Switch
by Doodlebugg
Summary: Lloyd and co. have just saved the world from certain destruction, but all of a sudden, they were whisked back to day one! And to top that off, everyone has seemed to switch bodies! What's the meaning of all this? Really corny. Beware.
1. The End

I wrote this a looooong time ago. Like, last September. Then I found it, read it, edited it, and put it here on FanFiction! WARNING: this story is extremely corny. Beware.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, I would be Kratos' lover instead of Anna. So there.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The End**

"We did it. We saved the world," Lloyd Irving panted. Lloyd and his party of eight had just defeated the corrupt leader of Cruxis, Yggdrasill, and joined the two worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla with the help of the Eternal Sword. It was exhausting.

Kratos descended from the sky as Lloyd was trying to figure out how to put his newly acquired wings away, which he gained when Yggrdasill's soul was pulled into his Exshpere. Kratos was a member of Cruxis, and an angel, and Lloyd's father. He had been helping Lloyd's party without Mithos Yggdrasill's knowing.

Lloyd surveyed the group. Raine was using her healing arts to revive Presea and Regal, both of whom were completely knocked out by the power of Yggdrasill. Genis and Colette, were examining the bumps and bruises they acquired. Zelos, being his natural perverted self, was healed already and chasing Sheena around. No one seemed too badly hurt… or at least they weren't dead.

Kratos walked over to where Lloyd stood.

"Are you really going back to Derris-Kharlan?" Lloyd asked the angel.

"If a half-elf of Cruxis remains here, the other half-elves will no place to live. As a surviving member of Cruxis, I must bear the responsibility of what has happened."

"I'm going to collect all the Exspheres remaining in this land," Lloyd said.

"…And I will discard all of Cruxis' Exspheres into space. I've dragged you into this until the very end."

"It's okay…"

"…It's time for me to go. Please use that sword to send us to Derris-Kharlan."

"…Goodbye… Dad! …" Kratos gave a little smile as he heard this coming out of his son's mouth. He had finally earned Lloyd's forgiveness for leaving him fourteen years ago.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble.

"Hey, Sheena! Are you calling Gnome again?" Lloyd yelled.

"No! What is all this shaking?" the summoner responded.

"Aaahhh!!!" Zelos screamed.

"Shut up, Zelos!" Sheena yelled as Raine said, "Honestly, Zelos, you're a grown man."

"Well, sooorry! I almost fell and got dirt on my beautiful face!" Zelos said. Both women shook their heads.

Presea, finally healed, got up onto her feet and dusted herself off. "There is a large earthquake in this area. But what is the cause?"

"That is a good question, Presea. I don't think any of us know the answer, though," Regal said calmly, also having been healed.

The rumbling continued. Not even the members of the group with wings could escape the endless shaking.

Presea was the first to black out. It seemed the shaking grew harder around her, and then Presea fell, almost landing on her axe. Genis ran over to her now unconscious body.

"Presea! Presea, can you hear me?!?!" There was no answer. Once again, the earthquake shattered the group, and Regal fell. Raine rushed over.

"Bring back this soul from purgatory. Resurrection! … No use. He's out, too." Raine said sadly, her specialty failing her again.

"What the hell is happening?!" Lloyd shouted. As he said that, Sheena succumbed to whatever was it was that was happening. "Sheena!" Lloyd yelled.

"Man, you sure do yell a lot, Lloyd," Zelos said.

"This is _not_ the time to be making stupid comments, Zelos," Genis said impatiently. He was still seated beside Presea. A few moments later, Genis dropped to the ground.

"Genis!" Raine and Lloyd shouted together and ran over to him. He was still breathing, like the others. Raine slumped, defeated. Soon, she, too, passed out.

"What is going on, Dad?" Lloyd asked Kratos.

"It would seem that we have been trapped. I do not know what will happen, so let me tell you something. I–" Kratos fell to the ground.

"Dad! Colette, are you all right? Zelos? Good," he said as they nodded in turn.

"Lloyd, what's happening? I'm scared." Colette ran over and hugged him.

"What about me? You can hold me any time you want, Colette." Zelos said.

"This is _**NOT**_ the time, you stupid Chosen!!!" Lloyd screamed. Zelos looked a little scared, then dropped to the ground.

"Lloyd, we'll be okay, right? Everything will be all right… right?" Colette hugged him tighter. "Oh, no. It's happening to me!" and with that, Colette slumped against Lloyd's chest and then to the ground, leaving him the only one standing in the rumbling field. Everyone began to fade, and then disappeared. Soon, Lloyd was the only one in the clearing.

"Is this someone's idea of a _joke_?!?!" Lloyd called to nothing. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. He fought it, but it was too strong. He slipped into the void…

* * *

So? What do you think? Sorryt about the big cliffhanger, it seemed like a good time to cut it off. But, anyway, review! Leave comments, questions, concerns, anything really. Tell me I suck and should go to Hell, even. I don't care. So, um, bye.

Love,  
Doodlebugg


	2. Where Am I?

Here's where the corniness really starts... Feeal free to laugh at me.

Disclaimer: the author is not a talking peanut.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Where am I?**

* * *

**Lloyd – What happened?**

"Ugh, ow, ow…" Lloyd said as he drifted back into consciousness. He took note of the pain he was experiencing. He wondered where he was, so he forced his eyes open. He looked up at a fancy canopy hanging over the four-poster bed that he lay in. The purple sheets were soft, and the heavy comforter was warm.

His muscles were sore from holding himself up during the earthquake, but he drowsily got out of bed. He glanced around. This looked like Zelos' bedroom…

Lloyd got very nervous. He forced his eyes to look down, and found long legs covered with pink pajama pants. As he looked down, waves of crimson hair tumbled over his shoulder. This was _definitely_ not his hair. He found a mirror near the door. Nervously, he looked at himself in the mirror. Well, it wasn't _his_ face. It was Zelos'. Lloyd let out a scream. Sebastian, the butler, came into the room.

"Are you all right, Master Zelos?" Sebastian said.

Lloyd got dizzy. He fell back on the bed, defeated. He was in Zelos' body…

* * *

**Colette – I'm so confused…**

Colette woke to the sounds of birds chirping. She sat up on her mat and rubbed her head. Wait… _mat_?! Where was she? Colette looked around. She was in a small hut with bare walls and a dirt floor. This looked like one of the houses in Mizuho.

She surveyed herself. She felt heavier. Colette looked down. Big breasts were the first things she spotted. She donned a purple kimono-type shirt and black clingy pants. Her hair was in a messy bun. What was happening?

Colette left the small hut. She was definitely in Mizuho. She made her way to Vice-Chief Tiga's hut.

"Hello, Vice-Chief." The voice that came from her mouth was not her own.

"Hello, Sheena. Good timing. I have a very important mission for you. You are going to Sylvarant."

Colette's (which was now Sheena's) head spun. Okay, she was in Sheena's body. What was even weirder was that she had a feeling of being sent back in time. "Sylvarant?" Colette decided to play along. She would find out what was going on one way or another.

* * *

**Genis and Raine – I'm you!!!**

Genis rolled over on the bed. He could feel the bottom of the bed with his feet. _That's weird,_ he thought. He rolled out of the bed only to find him looking at himself. His groggy mind didn't process what he was seeing until the small figure rolled over and opened its eyes. It _was_ himself.

"AHHHHH!!!" they screamed together.

"Wh-who are you? Why do you look like me?" Genis asked the imposter.

"I'm Raine Sage. Who are _you_?"

"Raine? I-I'm Genis. _Raine_? You look like me!"

"Genis? What in the world is going on?" Raine stood up. She looked very short, especially compared to his new height. Genis was in Raine's body. He was a _girl_!

"I don't know. Where are we? Iselia? But our house was burned down by desians! I'm confused!"

"As am I. But there is no use worrying over that. What is more important is that we've suddenly been transported back in time."

**

* * *

****Sheena – I'm not the Chosen!**

Sheena awoke when someone rocked her gently.

"Colette, darling. It is time for school. You must get ready." The voice was foreign to her, but it sounded like an elderly woman. Sheena opened her eyes to find that she was right.

"W-what's going on?" she asked.

"School, dear. Get ready or you'll be late." The woman said.

"Wait. Did you just call me Colette?"

"Yes, I did. You don't think your own grandmother would mistake you for someone else, do you? Now, hurry up!"

"Y-yes, ma'am." Sheena flew out of bed and over to a small mirror hanging over the desk in the room. Golden locks fell down to her waist, and a sweet face stared back at her in horror. The under-developed body shook fiercely. _Deep breaths_, she told herself.

Sheena ran to the small closet in the back of the room, and threw on the outfit that Colette always loved to wear. She couldn't believe her senses, which all told her the same thing: Sheena was somehow in Colette's body.

**

* * *

****Kratos – I'm… human?**

Kratos rolled off the hard bed and onto the wood floor.

"Owww…" Now, he was in even more pain. What was weirder was that he could feel the pain.

"Where am I?" Kratos said as he looked around the small bedroom made completely of wood. Then he gasped. What happened to his voice? It sounded different, almost like…

Lloyd.

He rushed down the wooden stairs to find the dwarf, Dirk. Lloyd's foster dad, Kratos recalled.

"I made you breakfast, Lloyd."

Kratos was ready to politely decline, but his eyes shifted to the table, with a plate of steaming eggs and bacon piled high on it. His mouth watered, which was something that hadn't happened to him in four thousand years. For the first time since he became an angel, he was _hungry_.

Then something else hit him. Dirk had called him _Lloyd_. Could that be? He couldn't possibly be Lloyd… his son. But he was.

**

* * *

****Zelos – I'm so **_**old!!! NOOOOO!!!**_

Zelos' neck was stiff, and the bench underneath him was hard. He tried to push himself up, but found that his hands were bound. He cracked his eyes open, and found himself in on of the Meltokio jail cells. He struggled to sit up. A cold breeze blew against his bare belly. Where was he?

He looked down and saw a very muscular body and handcuffed hands. Blue-colored bangs covered his eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!" Zelos screeched. Two of the Papal Knights came rushing to the cell.

"What do you want, Bryant? Quit screaming!" one of them said. Zelos closed his mouth. Bryant? As in, _Regal_ Bryant? No way. It couldn't be. How was this possible? It wasn't! But the facts were staring him straight in the face: the hair, the cell, the shackles…. All of it pointed in the same direction. He wasn't the Chosen anymore, so he couldn't tell them to shut up. He was filthy, ugly, and _old_. He was Regal.

**

* * *

****Regal – This is strange…**

Regal felt strange. And short. He was in pain. He opened his eyes and looked across to the opposite bed in the small room. He gave out a yelp. A dead man lay in the bed, causing a horrible stench.

He climbed out of the bed, whose headboard reached up to his head. He was short. He noted his body, and blushed. It was a feminine body. Young, but he was definitely a woman.

He tried to think things through, but the pain was too overwhelming. He looked down and saw a small Cruxis Crystal attached to his chest. His outside looked exactly like Presea's. He was in Presea's home. He was wearing the Cruxis Crystal Presea had developed in her body. There was only one logical explanation. He was Presea. Okay, well, that wasn't exactly logical, but it was the best one he could come up with.

**

* * *

****Presea – An angel?**

Presea felt stronger than she ever had been in her life, even when her power had been amplified by the Cruxis Crystal. She stood up, dusting the dirt off of her purple suit. Then, she took note of her surroundings. She seemed to be in Welgaia, the city of the angels. Presea blinked. Was it just her, or did she seem taller? And why was she wearing purple? More importantly, why was she in Welgaia?

An angel appeared in front of her. Not just any angel. Yggdrasill.

_He isn't dead?_ Presea thought.

"Hello, Kratos." Yggdrasill was talking directly to her, Presea figured, as there was no one else around. "The oracle is coming today. Go now; accompany the Chosen of Regeneration on her journey. Make sure she doesn't stray from her chosen path. Her mana signature is too close to Martel's. We mustn't loose her," Yggdrasill said, and then beamed away.

So that was it. Presea was trapped in Kratos Aurion's body. That made perfect sense. She must really be going insane. Presea wondered how she would get away from this place. As she thought it, blue wings sprouted from her back. She flapped them, rose, and descended upon Iselia, home of the Chosen, Colette.

_Okay, I must be dreaming,_ Presea thought as she put away the sparkly blue wings. Instead of playing along with the original story line that she heard from the Sylvarant half of the group, she ran (Kratos had amazing speed, with his long legs) to the only place she could go in case this was in fact real. She ran to Genis' house.

After a knock, Genis opened the door. "Kratos?" he said, "Wow, you're tall."

Presea wondered how much Genis knew about all of this, or if he, too, was affected by this weird phenomenon. He certainly knew who Kratos was, so either they had already met, or he knew a lot of what was going on.

"Genis? Do you know who Presea is?" she asked the small boy.

"Yes, of course I do. I think Genis is infatuated with her, as well," he said. Presea noted that Genis had talked in third person.

"Are you Genis?" she asked.

"No, what do you – I mean, yes, I am."

"Are you sure? Because if you're not, I need to tell you that I'm not Kratos."

The twelve-year-old gave a sigh of relief. "Okay, I am Raine. Who are you?"

"Raine? In your brother's body? That's strange. It's me, Presea."

"Presea?" Whoever was occupying Raine's body rushed to the door. "Presea? You're… you're… _Kratos_."

"Yes, and who are you? Genis?" Presea asked.

"Yeah! Good guess!" Genis said.

"Okay, since we know we're not alone in this strange phenomenon, come in. We'll go to Colette's and Lloyd's houses in a few minutes." Raine ushered them into their house, and they began to talk.

* * *

I warned you. But you read it anyway. Oh, well. Thanks for reading! Do you have any questions, comments, concerns, or pigs? Then review! Please. 'Kay, bye.

Love,  
Doodlebugg


	3. A Meeting

The third chapter is up! Feast your eyes on this amazing story as I eat a brownie and marvel over how I could have written a story this... strange.

Disclaimer: To Kill A Mockingbird is a very hard book to read. Grr... taking time out of FanFiction... *sigh*

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Meeting**

* * *

"So," Presea, in Kratos' body, said, "We seem to have gone back in time, and in doing so, assumed each other's bodies? I find that hard to believe."

"I don't," Raine, who was stuck in her brother's body, said. "Remember the Eternal Sword? It had the power to travel to the past and future, so why not swap souls? The impossible is possible for this sword. Lloyd could have set it off somehow while trying to merge the two worlds."

"Stupid Lloyd… Well, we won't get anything done by just sitting here! Let's go to Colette's house!" Genis, in Raine's body, jumped up from the little wooden chair in his house, and ran towards the door. He was still getting used to the proportions of a female body, so he tripped halfway there.

"Genis, slow down! We won't get anything done with you tripping all over… myself," Raine scolded awkwardly.

"Let's go. I wish to return to normal as soon as possible," Presea said as she helped Genis up.

Five minutes later, Presea, Genis, and Raine stood outside of Colette's house. They were all wondering the same thing: who was in Colette's body? And what would happen if that person received the oracle instead of the real Colette?

Raine was the first to walk to the door. After a few raps on it, the door opened to reveal Colette. Or rather, someone who looked like her.

"Who are you, really? We know you're not Colette. So tell us," Raine demanded.

Whoever had answered the door froze in place and the color drained from her (or his) face. "I-I, um… Sheena," she said quietly.

"Well, I'm Raine, Genis is in my body, and Presea is in Kratos'," Raine said.

"It happened to you, too? I heard that today the oracle is coming. What will happen if _I _receive the oracle?"

"Good. You've figured out we've been sent back in time. I don't know what we can do about this. But right now, you _are_ the Chosen of Regeneration, not the real Colette. You have to assume all responsibilities of the Chosen. Just act like you're Colette and that everything is fine. We'll figure something out. In the meantime, come with us. We've got to see who Lloyd is." Raine jumped off the last step, almost falling because she was so short.

"Yeah, come on! Whoever is in Lloyd's body _must_ be confused!" Genis cried from a few yards away.

Later, the posse was standing in front of Dirk's house. Sheena went up to the door and knocked. Dirk answered.

"Hello, Colette. Lloyd's in his room. Oh, hello. Come on in," Dirk said. Dirk gave Presea a curious glance, but shrugged off his strange feeling.

Presea, Sheena, Genis, and Raine walked into the wooden two-story house and up the staircase. Whoever was in Lloyd was lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Um, Lloyd? Who are you?" Sheena asked hesitantly.

"Chosen? Um, I mean, Colette?" he answered.

"Who are you, really? I'm Sheena. Genis, Raine, and Presea are with me, too." Sheena went to stand by Lloyd's bed.

"Sheena? So I am not alone. I am Kratos." Kratos sighed upon seeing his own body with someone else inside it.

Genis burst into a fit of laughter. "Kratos in _Lloyd's _body?!" He said through uncontrolled laughs. It sounded odd coming from Raine's mouth. "Kratos is his own _son_!!!"

Raine reached to smack Genis' head only to find she could no longer reach it. She settled for kicking him in the shins. That was definitely going to hurt when and if she somehow became herself again. "Genis! Apologize to Kratos! He's been through a lot, suddenly becoming human again, and on top of that, gaining teenage hormones! Both for the first time in four thousand years! This is… This is…" Raine didn't finish her statement. She, too, was suddenly laughing her head off. So was Sheena. Presea was chuckling quietly. Kratos glared at them.

"Well, if you all are done, we should try to figure out how to gain control of our original bodies." Kratos looked awkward in Lloyd's skin as he stood up. "But first, I am… hungry. Again."

"Wow! I didn't know you got hungry, Kratos!" Sheena mocked as she attempted to swallow her laughs.

"In my body, I do not. But apparently, our astral bodies are merging with the physical ones we've assumed. To put it simply, I believe we are _becoming _that person. I suppose it is only a matter of time before our consciousness merges and we begin behaving differently." Kratos stretched as his stomach grumbled. "Let us go eat."

"If what you said is true, about our minds merging, then we must act fast so we can reverse the curse, or something," Raine said. "But we must continue our lives normally, so as not to call attention to ourselves. Off to school, everyone but Presea."

Everyone but Presea (yes, even Kratos) moaned as they headed toward the schoolhouse. As they passed through the kitchen, Kratos swiped a handful of bacon.

* * *

Lloyd was dreaming. He had to be. How was this even possible?

But the scary thing was that he actually believed it was happening. What was he supposed to do, though? Just wait it out? He didn't think so. Zelos – Uh, er, Lloyd – sprang from the plushy bed he was lying on, and bolted down the stairs. He reached the ornately carved door, and stopped dead in his tracks. Where was he going?

"Think things through, Lloyd," Lloyd said to himself, "If this happened to you, obviously it happened to Zelos, and maybe it happened to the others. And the other Tethe'allans will be just as confused as I am. And, oh, Regal should still be in jail… Whoever's there must be pretty lonely…" Lloyd made a decision. He would go to the Meltokio jail and comfort the Regal impersonator, being the kind person he was. The only thing he didn't factor in was the girls.

Lloyd left Zelos' manor… and was immediately flocked by rich noble women. And a cat. And some creepy guy named Fred, who Lloyd guessed was sexually confused. Just how many people lived in Meltokio? The mob was so big and crowded, Lloyd had to stop directly in his tracks. This was saying something, because he was desperately trying to free himself of the fangirls.

After about twenty minutes with no prevail, Lloyd stopped struggling against the crowd of girls. The girls stopped rushing him then, too, and Lloyd could breathe again. Now that he wasn't fighting it, he was kind of enjoying the attention. So, with all thoughts of the jail left behind, Lloyd, acting as the Tethe'allan Chosen, wandered off to find some entertainment.

* * *

Colette was freaking out. She had gone to Sylvarant on a rheaird before, of course, but never alone, and never to attempt to kill herself… That was a weird statement (Colette suicidal moment # 1). How was she going to do this? She didn't even know how to use the mana-infused cards that Sheena used!

During her freak-out session, Colette was busy packing. She put the essentials into a burlap bag, and when she was done, both with her freak-out session and packing, she left the hut and went to the hut where Vice-Chief Tiga was. Tiga was on the floor, looking as if he were meditating. The accidental slam of the sliding door pulled the Vice-Chief out of his reverie, and when he saw Colette – well, really he saw Sheena, but it was really Colette – he stood and gave a respectful bow and a map. The map had a thick blue line tracing a path to Syback. Colette knew where that was, but she took the map anyway, gave the Vice-Chief a bow as well, and headed toward Syback.

After five hours of walking through the very confusing Gaoracchia Forest, Colette saw the sun. She breathed a sigh of relief. The forest was really scary, especially when you were all by yourself.

The journey took only three more hours after that. She reached Syback just as the sun was beginning to set. Once inside the city walls, Colette started toward the academy, where she assumed someone would be waiting for her.

Sure enough, Yuan was standing just inside the door. Without a word, he tossed a shining blue crystal to her, which Colette caught. It was an Exsphere. It had a Key Crest, so she equipped it, on her right breast. Best to go with the storyline. Speaking of storylines, she wasn't supposed to know who Yuan was yet.

"Uh, who are you?" Colette asked, hoping to sound oblivious.

"I am Yuan Ka-Fai, leader of the Renegades. I am here to guide you, Sheena, on your journey to Sylvarant."

_Okay, that sounded suspiciously like Remiel, _Colette thought. Then she said, "And how can you do that?"

"With this." Yuan pulled out a wing pack. "Inside this is a rheaird, which you can use to travel between the dimensions to Sylvarant. Come with me to my base, where you will be able to travel to the other world."

"Um, okay." Colette followed Yuan to the icy northern continent on her new rheaird. Once there, a glowing blue ball appeared in her line of vision and the duo shot toward it.

They traveled through the void separating Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and out into the declining world.

* * *

Yay! It's done! Review, please, por favor, s'il vous plaît, kudasai, please in Russian... Thanks! Gracias! Merci! Arigatou! Thanks in Russian...!


	4. Sylvarant

Okay... This is a really short chapter, so I'm going to lengthen it... La La La La La. Blah. There. That probably didn't do much. Oh, well, I'm not going to write a hundred nonsense words. I'm too lazy. Well, anyway, here is the fourth chapter! By the way, I won't be updating, like, tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next day. If you remember back to the first chapter, I told you that I wrote this a long time ago. I already had written the first four chapters, so now I have to continue writing the fifth. And I'm working on High School, my other story. So, in conclusion, this story might not be updated for a while. So there.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Sylvarant**

* * *

Disclaimer: The author does not own anything, including the laptop on which she wrote this story, Kratos (unfortuantely), and Bob the Flying Monkey.

* * *

Colette was now back in the declining world of Sylvarant. What was she supposed to do, though? Sit and wait? What had Sheena done?

Well, Sheena had had a lot of friends back in Luin, so maybe she waited there. So that's where she would go. She longed for her wings as she started the extremely long trek from the Triet Desert to Luin.

* * *

Kratos looked at the back of the Chosen's – no, Sheena's – head as Genis lectured the class on the Ancient Kharlan War. He knew what would happen if Sheena accepted the oracle – everyone knew. But as far as he knew, the group had to get the Eternal Sword in order to fix everything. That meant everything had to go pretty much the same way as it did before. And _that_ meant Sheena had to become the Chosen.

* * *

Genis was trying very hard to be teacher-like. He asked question, wrote stuff on the chalkboard, and even accused Kratos of staring off into space. But it was so nerve-wracking. After every sentence he spoke, Genis expected someone to burst out with "You're not Professor Raine!"

It was almost noon, the time when the oracle would arrive, so there were only a couple more panic-filled minutes until he could get out of the dreadful classroom.

Genis busied himself by asking questions until the blue-white light shone through the schoolhouse's windows. Everyone was astounded, except for Sheena. Genis looked at the girl and saw a horrified expression on her face. Genis had to feel sorry for her. She would be going through a lot very soon.

Genis sighed and said, "Everyone, study on your own. I'm going to check it out."

No one said anything. Genis ran out of the school.

* * *

Once Genis was gone, Kratos stood up from his chair and walked to the door, suddenly thinking like Lloyd would. Raine also ran to the door, and Sheena stood up awkwardly, horror still dominating her face.

"Let us go to the Martel Temple," Kratos said.

"Yes, that would be wise," Raine added.

"No! I can't be the Chosen!" Sheena yelled quietly. She knew what would happen if anyone had heard that.

The students around the trio looked suspicious, as this was a very out-of-character moment for anyone who didn't know, which was practically everyone.

Kratos began dragging Sheena out of the school. When they were in the small hallway that led to the door, Kratos hissed, "Sheena. You must play the part of Colette right now! If you don't, there is no way things will turn out like they did before. Go to the temple! I will get Presea, and then Raine and I will come, just as the original story line. You go, also, Genis," Kratos barked. It sounded weird coming from Lloyd's mouth. He ran out of the school and immediately collided into Presea, who looked like Kratos. "Ow…" Kratos said. He didn't think he would ever get used to pain.

"Good, Presea," Kratos said as he brushed himself off, "Go to the Martel Temple. Raine and I are coming also."

* * *

Kratos was in shock. These feelings were new to him. He hadn't experienced fatigue, hunger, or even pain for four thousand years. And now all of a sudden he was reverted back to a human, or at least half-human. The other half was angel, but that didn't help any. He felt human. He was scared. Humans were so fragile, and he was amazed at how Lloyd had lived these seventeen years at all. He longed to be an angel again, to not have to scarf down food to keep him from dying.

When they reached the temple, they took a deep breath and headed up the stairs. When they reached the top, the Renegades were waiting for them.

_Oh, no_, Kratos thought. He hadn't even thought about fighting. He didn't know how to use the two single-edged swords that Lloyd used. He would try his best. He unsheathed the swords and held them at the ready. He was concerned about Sheena and Raine, though. Neither of them knew even an inkling on how to use their weapons. No matter, he would just have to keep the enemies at bay until Presea showed up.

Kratos swung, sliced, and hit to the best of his ability. Which, he was sad to say, was very bad. But eventually, Presea showed up, and she swung the double-edged sword semi-expertly. The weapon was similar to an axe. Well, more similar than a chakram, at least. They defeated the Renegades and Vidarr, and went into the temple to receive the oracle.

* * *

Not much of a story, I know. But it was what I had, and it seemed like a good place to cut it off at the time. So, please review! I crave your suggestions and comments! And guacamole! Even though I don't like guacamole! *goes to find guacamole*


	5. The Chosen of Regeneration

Oh, geez… I'm sorry. I've been so busy this last month and a half that I haven't had time to even _think_ about this story. So, I'm done neglecting it (hopefully), and I muscled something up for you to read. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I, the author, do not like fish.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Chosen of Regeneration**

Sheena stepped up to the altar. The group of Genis, Kratos, Raine, Presea, and herself had spent the last hour wandering around the temple like idiots, trying to find out how to open the door to the warp pad. After they had defeated several golems (barely), they retrieved the Sorcerer's Ring and took the pad to the alter room.

The evil angel Remiel descended down from Welgaia, posing as Colette's guardian angel and father. But Sheena already knew exactly who he was, so she didn't believe him for a second. The hard part was acting like she did.

"I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment. I am here to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen. The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world." Remiel looked so serious. Sheena hated that. The angel shot a shiny glowing rock at her, and it attached to her chest. Her extremely flat chest. "From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration. We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant."

The giant tower they all knew and had come to hate appeared, and the group tried their very best to look astonished. Their faces looked like more of a mix between dismay and boredom, though.

"The Tower of Salvation…" Presea whispered. The nearest person to her, Raine, looked over with a sympathetic smile.

"Now, Colette, Chosen of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to distant lands." Remiel locked eyes with the "Chosen" and dared her to speak.

"Uh, okay…" Sheena said weakly.

"Good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated. First, head to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land." Remiel disappeared in a bright flash of light and the remaining four looked at each other.

"So, I guess it's really happening, isn't it?" Sheena asked.

"Yes, I suppose," Presea said glumly.

Raine turned to face to group. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Well, we don't have much of a choice. We must stick to the original timeline," Kratos told them. Sheena sighed.

"But… I'm not Colette. I don't want to give up my life for the sake of the world. I'm… a coward." Sheena looked dejected as she gave a sorrowful glance at the floor.

"Sheena, we'll protect you. You will not end up as a lifeless being… like me," Presea told the girl.

"We need to stick to our original journey, however. That means Sheena must go on the entire Journey of Regeneration. Nothing can sway us from our initial goal." Kratos, too, looked somewhat forlorn as he reflected on their first adventure together.

"You're right… I guess, until we get the Eternal Sword, I need to do my best to act like Colette…"

"And I as well will attempt to play my part," Kratos said as he walked forward to Sheena. He placed his gloved hands on her shoulders. "We will all try our best. And we will protect you, whatever the cost may be."

Sheena looked into Kratos' new eyes. They were so deep and knowledgeable, and she believed every word that he told her.

"Kratos, Sheena. We must be going. We have a timeline to keep intact," Raine said as she stepped onto the warp pad.

"Y-yes, you're right. Let's go." Sheena warped away also, leaving Kratos alone with Presea.

"We should be going," Kratos said stiffly, still not use to seeing his own body occupied by another.

"Yes." Presea disappeared, followed by Kratos.

On the ground, Kratos noticed that Raine and Genis had gone ahead, leaving him with Presea and Genis who was standing nervously in the middle of the temple's main antechamber.

"Genis." Kratos nodded to the boy… er, woman… This was getting confusing.

Genis whipped around and looked at Kratos with a blank expression before realizing that it was Kratos, not Lloyd. "Oh, hi, Kratos." Genis glanced around, then asked, "Where are Raine and Sheena?"

"They're right next to me," Kratos said sarcastically. "They left, you moron!" Presea and Genis stared at the usually stoic man. "What?" Kratos asked.

"Y-you…" Genis tried.

"Your personality is being affected as a result of this transfusion that we have undergone," Presea said.

"Oh, I suppose you're right…" Kratos flushed, not enough for anyone to see, but he still flushed. "Let us go."

"Right! Come on, Presea!" Genis ran out of the temple, almost tripping a few times.

* * *

When the threesome of Kratos, Presea, and Genis found themselves back in Iselia, they started toward Colette's house. An awkward silence had come over them, so the walk was uncomfortable. When they reached the residence, they heard someone talking inside. Genis walked up to the door and rapped on it. When no one came to the door, the mage shrugged and walked in. The others followed suit.

"Then, we will entrust the protection of the Chosen to Kratos and Raine" the mayor was saying to Phaidra, Frank, and Sheena. When the three of them walked in, Sheena looked up and put on a somewhat authentic smile.

"Hi," she said. Genis waved at her.

_Lloyd has a line here… what is it?_ Kratos thought. Something about going on the journey… "Before, were you talking about the Journey of Regeneration? I would like to go, also."

"No," the mayor said, a little too quickly, "You'll only get in the way. We want the Chosen's journey to go smoothly, and you'll only ruin it." How ironic his words were, though. He said that Kratos would accompany the Chosen, and yet here he was, stuck inside Lloyd.

"Okay, fine. Well, I'm going." Kratos turned to leave, and Sheena got up to follow him, and Presea and Genis stayed where they were. Outside, the two of them sat on the front steps. "Where's Raine?" Kratos asked Sheena.

"She went back to her house. She said something about 'aromatherapy' for her headache." Sheena rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I want that, too."

"It sounds… calming. Something that we all need."

"…Yeah. You know, you're becoming a lot easier to talk to since, you know, all this happened…" Sheena stared at the ground, refusing to steal a glance at the once-quirky and ignorant boy. How things had changed… Sheena _used_ to have a crush on Lloyd, but now… she wasn't so sure.

Kratos paid no attention to Sheena's internal conflict and just talked. "I suppose I am. Hmph, this predicament is really warping my mind."

"Yeah…" Sheena said, not really listening.

"Well, I suppose I should get going. I plan to check on Raine." With that, Kratos lifted himself from the front steps and walked off into the distance.

* * *

So, I want to once again apologize for my lack of updates. I'm sorry. Stupid EOCT… Stupid language arts… Stupid To Kill A Mockingbird…

Anyways! Review, please! I would very much appreciate it. Post your questions, comments, concerns, hate mail… Just please review! n.n


	6. Uh Oh

I need to apologize again. I've been neglecting this story…again. I lied to you, thinking that I actually would be able to write more on my summer vacation, but, unfortunately, that was not the case. And I didn't really get a chance to do a lot, anyway, for multiple reasons. So, I'm sorry, I'll try to do better, once I get the right motivation to do so. But, at least I'm trying, right?

I'll shut up now so you can read.

Disclaimer: I thought a thought but the thought I thought was not the thought I thought I thought.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Uh-oh…**

Kratos had reached the Sage's house. When he knocked on the door, he had to wait a few minutes before it actually opened, revealing a tired-looking Ge—Raine. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and emerged from the dimly-lit house.

"Hey," she said, a scowl deeply embedded in her new face.

"Did the aromatherapy not work?" Kratos asked, confused as to why she was so pissy.

"No. It did not. This sucks," Raine huffed. What the…? Why was she being so…? Kratos was at a loss for words.

"Um…" he tried.

"Come on, we're behind." Raine grabbed Kratos' hand and dragged him away from her house.

"Where are we going?" Kratos asked.

"Where do you think? We're going to your—Lloyd's—house. I remember a bit of the timeline from our previous journey, and Lloyd was at his house when Colette wanted to go and see him. Remember?" He did, indeed, remember this. It was when he had become certain that Lloyd was his son.

So they walked into the Iselia Forest together, Raine falling behind every few minutes because of her short legs. Everything was fine until the pair reached the Iselia Ranch.

"I feel like we're supposed to be doing something…" Raine mumbled. Kratos cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean? It's the human ranch; we're not supposed to violate the non-aggression treaty, remember?" Kratos said, then cursed himself for sounding like Lloyd.

"I have a strange feeling…like there's something in there that's really important." Raine sighed. "But I guess you're right. Come on, we should go."

"Yes…" They walked right past the cold metal walls and continued through the forest. The entire time, Raine kept getting a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that there was something important that she had to do at the ranch.

* * *

Later that night, Sheena, Presea, and Genis also made their way to Lloyd's house. Raine and Kratos were already inside, talking about what had happened. The three made their way into the small wooden house to find Dirk was preparing dinner.

"Hello, Raine, Colette, and…um, sir. Lloyd and Genis are upstairs. I was just fixin' up some Dwarven Potluck Surprise. Would ya like some, too?" Dirk asked.

Genis paled. "N-no thanks, Mr. Irving. We-we're good." He then ran upstairs, stumbling a bit. Sheena and Presea followed, not wanting to try the strange dish.

Once upstairs, the group huddle together on the floor, where they wouldn't be disturbed by Dirk.

"We found another side effect," Kratos said after a moment of silence.

"Really?" Sheena asked. What was it _this_ time?

"What is it?" Presea asked in a monotone.

"Mood swings," Raine answered. "Earlier, I was acting…strangely—"

"Pissy," Kratos mumbled under his breath. Raine smacked him.

"As I was saying, I was acting strangely when Kratos first met up with me at my house. I was very angry for no reason. This may or may not apply to the rest of you, but it's good that we all know."

"This is getting confusing…" Genis whined.

"Yes, I think we all know that already." Raine rolled her eyes, but paused midway. That sounded like something Genis would say…This really _was_ confusing.

"…Sheena," Kratos said, effectively changing the subject, "You, Presea, and Genis are beginning the journey tomorrow, correct?" When Sheena nodded, Kratos continued. "I think it would be wise if Raine and I came along this time around, so as to eliminate unnecessary obstacles, such as Yuan kidnapping Lloyd—me, and then we can make our way through the journey faster."

"I see your point," Raine said.

"But what about Marble?" Genis cried.

"Marble?" Kratos asked. What was he talking about?

"Yeah! Lloyd and I had to…kill her when the Desians attacked the village." Genis looked pained at the memory.

"Oh! Wait, the Marble you killed was at the attack on Iselia?" Raine asked, realizaition dawning on her.

"Yeah! Lloyd saved her from being beaten when we went to the ranch that day to tell her about the oracle!"

"Really? Oh…um, Genis, what do you think would happen if we never did any of that?" Kratos asked nervously.

"You didn't tell her! Oh, Goddess…how do you think I got my Exsphere?" Genis practically screamed.

"Uh-oh…" Raine whispered. "I'm sorry, Genis, we didn't know. How can we fix this?"

"…Well, maybe it's for the best," Sheena said. When she got confused looks, she went on. "I mean, if you don't go see Marble, she won't die, right? And then Chocolat won't be mad at us for killing her. And we can always find an Exsphere for Raine to use. There are plenty of Desians that we can get one off of."

"That makes sense. Genis, what do you think?" Kratos asked.

"Well, that would probably be better. Yeah, let's go kick some Desian butt!" Genis cried, and Kratos and Raine stood up.

"We'll go get it for you," Raine said. "Oh, and Genis…I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but you wouldn't mind if I used my staff, would you? I can't use this kendama very well…" she admitted.

"Huh? Oh, sure. Here you go." Genis took his kendama and handed Raine her rod. Kratos apparently had the same idea, as he and Presea were exchanging weapons, as well.

"You're probably used to axes," he was saying, "But we cannot acquire one in Sylvarant. If you are able to wait, we can buy another sword in Triet." Presea nodded, and the two "boys" left the house.

"Do you think you'll still be good with your sword, even in a young teenage body?" Raine asked as they cautiously made their way through the Iselia forest.

"I cannot be certain, but I will definitely be better with my own sword than with Lloyd's twin blades. What about you? You seem to be having trouble with your staff…" Kratos eyed Raine wearily as she struggled to hold up her weapon.

"I'll…ugh, be fine," Raine said stubbornly.

"If you're sure…" Kratos said as they approached the ranch. A single guard was patrolling the main gate, but several were walking around the base, searching for intruders. After giving a silent nod to Raine, she began casting Fire Ball, though with obvious difficulty, as she was not skilled in offensive magic. Kratos would lure the guard over to them so that the other Desians wouldn't see, and eventually, they would get the Exsphere. It was vital that they had one for Raine; her attacks would be stronger, and she would be able to handle much more in the scrawny body she occupied. Kratos rushed the guard without warning, moving as fast as he could so as not to be seen clearly. The Desian held his sword up in defense just in time, and when Kratos broke the stalemate and ran back to the bushes, the guard followed, forgetting about his comrades. After all, Kratos was just a teenage boy, what harm could he do? When the two were far enough from the ranch, Raine let loose a feeble Fire Ball, and Kratos performed an expert Demon Fang. The Desian was knocked to the ground, and before he could get up, a sickening _splurch_ rung through the air as Kratos stabbed him. He pried the Exsphere off the now-dead half-elf, and walked calmly back to Raine.

"Here," he said as he tossed the gem to her. Her physical reflexes failed her, and she had to bend down to retrieve it from the ground.

"Thanks…you know, you really do look like yourself—well, your body—I mean to say…argh, this is confusing!" Raine cried softly.

Kratos nodded. "I understand. Unfortunately, I do not feel like myself. I feel…weak, hungry, and tired. And, worst of all, I can actually _feel_." Kratos sighed and rubbed his shoulder. "That bastard back there clipped me; it hurts, and I can't even cast First Aid on myself to heal it. This sucks."

Raine chuckled. "You're sounding more and more like Lloyd every minute." Then she stopped dead in her tracks and faced him as her face paled. "Wh-what does that mean?"

He did seem to be merging with Lloyd's body and personality a lot faster than the others. Was there something that was causing this? Or was he just succumbing to the changes easier than them? Whatever the reason, he had to fight back, or there was no telling what might happen…

* * *

Yeah, that's what I came up with in that long, long, long hiatus I took. I'm sorry I'm a slacker. I feel bad for those of you who read this story (and like it), because I suck at time management, and, if you haven't noticed, I tend to updaate stories whenever I'm in the mood to write. And I should probably work on the length of this. Sigh, I'm sorry.

Enough ranting. Bye.

Review?


	7. He's A Maniac!

Hi. Here's an update. Yay! I thought that _maybe_ you might like one, because I think I've neglected this story enough. Oh, and this chapter doesn't just go through one scene. I'm actually doing something along the plot line! Aren't you so happy that I'm actually getting somewhere with this story, finally? Well, at least I am, and that's what matters. Yay!

Also, what is that thingy in front of the inn in Triet? I call it an animal pen, but honestly, I've got no idea…Sigh.

Bye.

LINE

**Chapter 7: He's a Maniac!**

Triet, the desert oasis. The heat was blistering, and the cool lake beckoned to the party. It would be so easy just to take a sip of that refreshing water—but they knew that they couldn't.

"Man, it's hot," Sheena complained.

"Yes, we all know that. If you would just _shut up_, it might be more bearable," Raine snapped.

"…Sorry."

They continued further into the city, but stopped dead in their tracks when four Desians emerged from around the corner. They, along with Noishe, ran into the animal pen near the inn, where they watched the half-elves warily. They were asking about Lloyd Irving when Kratos realized that they were Renegades. Great, just what they needed.

"Renegades…" Kratos breathed to the others. After a few silent gasps, they continued to watch as the Renegades put up a wanted poster. It was crudely drawn, but it still had some form of resemblance to Lloyd—erm, Kratos—so they had to be careful. When the Renegades walked away to patrol a different area, the five quietly slipped out of the pen and proceeded to the shops.

The merchants lined the sandy streets as customers flocked around them, trying to buy good before another consumer pushed them out of the way. It was a busy day, obviously. Kratos and Presea left the comfort of the group to find some new weapons for everybody; Raine and Sheena went to the item shop; and Genis focused on getting food—they would need it.

"I hate this. I _really_ hate this," Sheena grumbled as the two pushed their way through the throng of people. There were only a few people ahead of them, but others kept cutting in line. Triet had a lot of travelers…

"If only I could perform a proper Fire Ball or Stone Blast; I could get this annoying mob out of the way," Raine sighed.

"That sounded like a threat," Sheena said a little nervously.

"It was." Raine shrugged, and the people around them inched away slowly. Raine had been serious, but unfortunately, she couldn't execute Genis' spells very well. Even when she had been helping Kratos kill that Desian, it had taken her a few minutes just to charge the spell, and even then only one Fire Ball had hit her target. How in the world did Genis manage that? Maybe the old proverb was true: practice makes perfect.

But for right now, she'd just have to make do with the weak Fire Balls that she could manage to cast.

LINE

When everyone was done shopping, they gathered back at the inn. Kratos and Presea distributed the new weapons, aside from Raine; her rod was exactly like the one in the shop. Sheena and Raine divided the items and gave equal shares to each member of the group. Genis did the same with the food he had bought.

With that done, they proceeded to make their way to the entrance of Triet. But, as luck would have it, the Renegades spotted them before they could leave. Their eyes widened and their mouths fell open in horror as they turned to face them. They'd been caught.

"You look like that wanted man, Lloyd Irving!" one of the soldiers shouted.

The other looked back to the wanted poster and nodded. "Yeah, it looks just like him!"

"Is he really _that_ ugly?" Kratos mumbled under his breath. Then, in a louder voice, he called to the Renegades as if by instinct: "And if I am?" Oh, how he cursed Lloyd's instincts.

"So it is…get them!" the soldier called to two shadows. They closed in on the group, leaving them vulnerable and unable to escape. They bound their hands so that they couldn't fight back, and then they were taken to the base.

LINE

As they were dumped unceremoniously in Yuan's office, said half-elf turned to face them. He had a scowl on his face and a malicious gleam in his eye. Right away, Kratos knew that it wasn't Yuan.

"What did you do?" Yuan hissed. He grabbed Kratos' collar and yanked him to eye level with the blunette. Everyone had similar looks of confusion…except for Kratos.

"Who are you?" Kratos asked calmly, keeping a steady glare on his captor. All eyes turned to him, some more surprised than others.

"…You really want to know?" the male said. Naturally, everyone nodded eagerly. Then, almost in a whisper, but with the same piercing glare, he said, "Mithos Yggdrasill."

"WHAT?" everyone gasped. No one but Kratos had been expecting that. He was dead, wasn't he? But this was the past…but he was dead when the Eternal Sword's power was triggered…what did this mean?

"Mithos?" Genis asked incredulously. He nodded, still glaring death.

"_You_ did this, didn't you?" Mithos accused, pointing to Kratos, who had recently freed himself from Mithos' grasp.

"Um…no," Kratos replied. "Lloyd did it."

Mithos' face was a question mark.

"I'm Kratos—" he started, but was immediately cut off by hysterical laughter. He shot a glare at Mithos.

"S-sorry, but that is just _too_ funny!" the half-elf stuttered. Kratos sighed. This journey was going to be hell.

LINE

Apparently, Mithos and Yuan had been somehow caught in the Eternal Sword's glitch and ended up here. But where was Yuan? Everyone had assumed that he was in Mithos, but they couldn't say for certain. It was possible that he had become someone like Magnius, or even Pronyma. Hell, he could even be a Summon Spirit! But because no one knew where he was for sure, they decided to drop the subject.

Anyway, after the meeting of sorts, Mithos agreed not to reveal anything and said that he would use the Renegades to aid them. Of course, they were skeptical because of Mithos' past, but he seemed to be changing fairly quickly. The group of five left the Renegade base and headed for the ruins, where the seal was. Sheena grew increasingly more nervous each second.

They approached the Triet Ruins for a second time. The sand only served to amplify the heat, but it didn't matter to Genis. They were in the midst of an ancient ruin! It was amazing! It was wondrous! It was—just like Raine. He was being affected. All he had to do was think like Genis. Think like Genis. But it was so hard. As if he were being controlled, he felt his last bits of sanity slip away as he submerged into the dreaded Ruin-Mode.

"Amazing!" he cried. He spread his arms wide, an ecstatic grin plastered on his face. It earned him confused and horrified stares. They had expected this from Raine, who was also deep in Ruin-Mode, but why Genis?

"Oh, no…there are two of them!" Sheena groaned. Genis glared at her briefly before going back to admiring the rocks and pillars.

"Personalities are changing drastically," Presea reported mechanically. "…I believe I have a theory to this change, and why Sheena and I are not changing as quickly."

"Huh?" Sheena asked. "What do you mean?"

"I cannot say for certain, but it seems that the more closely related they are, the faster they change."

"Wait," Raine said, immediately snapping out of Ruin-Mode, "You're saying that because Genis and I are related, we are most likely to change faster?"

"I believe that question has already been answered," Presea said. "Haven't you noticed that Sheena and I are barely changing at all?"

"Well, there's not much difference between you and Kratos in the first place…" Raine mumbled, then quickly caught herself. "I-I mean, I guess I haven't." She flushed a bit. Why did that theory have to turn out to be true?

"Well, there's not much we can do as of now, so we might as well get used to it," Sheena sighed.

"I guess…" said Raine. "Stupid, stupid Lloyd! Why did we ever agree to let _him_ use the Eternal Sword?" She huffed, and Kratos face her, a defensive glare on his face.

"Don't call my son stupid!" he growled. "He obviously didn't do it on purpose!"

"…Touchy, touchy…" Raine whispered. Fortunately, Kratos didn't hear it, because he didn't have his angel hearing any more. But Presea _did_ hear this, and grew worried.

"We should head in. Delaying our process would be bad." She walked up the small staircase leading to the entrance while Sheena placed her hand on the oracle stone and waited.

Nothing happened.

"Um, guys?" Sheena asked nervously. "Why isn't it opening?"

Genis walked over to the pedestal and examined it. "Well, it's designed to recognize the Chosen's mana signature, isn't it? Well, you don't have Colette's mana signature, and therefore it doesn't recognize you." Everyone looked shocked at this revelation. "Of course," he quickly added, "because you are technically Colette, it shouldn't be a problem for the later seals."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't exactly help us now, does it?" Raine said. Genis smacked her. They really were changing fast…

"Well…" Kratos said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What is it, Kratos?" Presea asked tepidly.

"Didn't you guys break the security system in the Toize Valley Mine by using force?" he asked.

"Yeah, but how did you know?" Sheena questioned.

"I'm…not sure…Anyway, why don't we just hit it with force?" Another mystery about this predicament. How did he know that had happened?

"Wh-what?" Genis practically shrieked. "But the polycarbonate—"

Sheena sighed at his reaction. "I'm pretty sure it's okay. I mean, I _am_ the 'Chosen' after all."

"O-okay…" he sighed. And then they began beating up the door. However strange that sounds. Raine bashed it with her staff. Kratos slashed with his sword, as did Presea. Sheena chucked her chakrams at it, barely hitting the mark. Genis just stood back and watched in horror.

Eventually, there was a large enough hole to slide through, and each went through the small space. Inside, it was dark and damp. Lovely. They located some dried weeds and, using the Sorcerer's Ring, lit it on fire, providing enough light for them to find their way through the labyrinth.

LINE

They made it to the altar room, and they waited for the Ktugach to appear. When it did, Genis and Raine ran to the back of the room and prepared to cast. Presea and Kratos ran forward, swords at the ready. Sheena ran forward and used her chakrams like a sword and slashed it without letting go. She couldn't afford to lose them in this dangerous battle, and she couldn't get the hang of getting them to boomerang back to her. So, even though it was a simple battle, they had trouble getting even one hit on the Ktugach. And then there were the Ktugachlings.

Halfway through casting a Fire Ball, she realized that the enemies were invulnerable to the element. So what could she do, then? The answer came to her, though she wished she had another option. Gathering all the mana she could muster, sapphire blue runes appeared under her feet. She could do this…she could do this…When she felt as though she would burst, she let loose a measly burst of water with a cry of "Aqua Edge!" The spell actually hit one of the Ktugachlings, and the fire surrounding it went out briefly before flaring back up, leaving a discouraged Raine to desperately cast another Aqua Edge before the enraged monster could reach her.

Meanwhile, Genis was having an equally hard time trying to heal. Because his new hands were unused to using a kendama, he could barely work with his weapon, and occasionally got distracted from the actual spell while trying to get the ball-and-cup to work. And then, when that was successful (though it rarely was), he had to concentrate on using the mana he gathered for healing purposes, not offensive attacks like he was used to. This resulted in an extremely weak First Aid, barely healing any wounds at all. How in the worlds did Raine do this?

Presea was also having trouble. Though there was no difference in strength from her old and new body, the weapon she had to carry was far lighter, and she constantly put too much thrust into her attacks and ended up missing her mark completely. And, to top that off, she kept swinging the sword like an axe, and again, sliced through air instead of the enemy. She also couldn't figure out how to channel her mana so that she could perform spells.

In fact, the only one who seemed fit enough to be in this battle was Kratos, considering that the weapon he used originally was the same one he used now. Of course, he couldn't use the same techs he could before, except for Sonic Thrust and Demon Fang, because his body was no longer attuned to the moves needed to perform such techniques as Light Spear, and obviously couldn't cast any spells. And fighting now physically exhausted him, which was something that hadn't happened for four thousand years. He could feel the heat radiating off of the Ktugach that he was fighting. He felt every slash of its claws, and the searing pain from the Fire Balls he failed to dodge. He reflexes were much slower due to the fact that he was human.

All in all, it sucked.

But, eventually, the battle was won, and they thanked whatever deity spared their lives. Out of breath and nearly passed out, the group watched as Remiel floated down from the ceiling. They could almost hear the cheesy angelic choir singing in the background.

Remiel's voice resonated throughout the chamber. "Well done, my daughter. Now, offer your prayers at the altar."

"Um…okay," Sheena squeaked. "Uh, Goddess Martel, grant me your strength." Although she tried to make it sound more formal and…Colette-ish, she couldn't remember the prayer she always gave verbatim, and ended up making a paraphrased version of her own. She hoped that it was alright to do so.

Suddenly, sparkling lights showered down on her, and her mana went out of control. It rushed toward her back, and out of her body. She could feel the wings flapping, and it felt strange, to say the least. She floated upward, and she let out a shocked gasp. She felt weightless, invincible, and all-around perfect. Looking over her shoulder, another gasp escaped her lips. Weren't Colette's wings supposed to be pink? Then why were they green? Sheena could tell the others were just as surprised as she, because their jaws all simultaneously dropped in confusion and shock.

"You have done well, Chosen," Remiel bellowed.

"…Thanks." She was still concerned about the growth on her back.

"Now, the next seal lies far to the east, across the sea. Offer your prayers at that altar." Remiel floated upward and disappeared in a grandiose depart of luminescent feathers.

"Well, let's get going, then," Kratos said after a brief uncomfortable silence. They all complied, and exited the ruin.

And then Sheena keeled over, letting out a pained yelp.

"Sheena!" Kratos yelled, rushing over to her side and helping her up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" she said weakly, growing paler with each passing second.

"No you're not! It's the Angel Toxicosis!" Raine yelled.

"So it would seem," Presea said. "We should rest here for tonight."

"Yeah…" Kratos said, and then proceeded to set up camp.

LINE

Yay! An anticlimactic ending!

Blah.

Anyways, here's is your chapter. Yay!

Review!

Bye!


	8. I'm Dying!

Greetings, fellow FanFictioners! (Haha, lame introduction!) Sorry this is so late; I had a severe case of Writer's Block for this fic…

Anyways! Here's the next chapter of Switch! Because you've all been _dying_ to read it! So, here it is!

**Chapter 8: I'm Dying!**

Genis was the last to wake up. Sheena was preparing breakfast, and the others were picking up camp. No one really minded that Genis was still asleep, because technically he still was the youngest of the group—at least, mentally. So they had let his sleep in.

Sheena watched the omelets fry intently, and one by one they liquid eggs grew solid and yellow. "They're done!" Sheena called softly to the group, so as to not wake the sleeping boy. The rest of them gathered around the fire that Sheena had cooked the omelets on and began to eat.

Genis stirred as the scent of freshly cooked eggs filled his nostrils. It was then that he realized he was so hungry. And he really wanted food. He forced his eyes to open a crack and saw his friends sitting around a fire. They had let him sleep in? That was nice of them. He pushed himself up and smoothed his hair before standing up. Then he stopped. Something was off. He knew it. But he couldn't tell what it was. He looked back at the place where he had slept and his eyes widened in horror. _Oh, Goddess…_ he thought as he eyed his blanket.

"Genis?" Presea asked worriedly. "What is wrong?"

"I-I'm _dying_!" he yelled and then broke into a choppy sob. "I'm sorry, Sis! I don't know what happened! I slept so well last night, too!"

Raine hurried over to his side and patted him low on his back. "What happened?" She, too, looked at his blanket and sighed. This wasn't happening. Now, of all times? "Genis…" she tried to explain. "You aren't dying."

"Then explain the blood!" Genis bawled.

"Oh…" Sheena said from behind. She knew what had happened; any woman would.

"Uh…Genis, let me explain to you how a woman works…" Raine said awkwardly, and it sounded even more awkward when it looked like it had come from the mouth of Genis. A strange sight, indeed.

"How a woman works?" Genis asked softly as the tears dried up. He no longer feared death.

"Yes. You see, once a month, a woman…_changes_…and then…" Raine explained as she led him away from the camp. She was already going through this with Genis; she didn't need the others hearing as well. Meanwhile, Kratos and Sheena attempted to shrug that uncomfortable moment off and then returned to their breakfast.

A few minutes, Raine and Genis returned, the latter shaking profusely, eyes wide with shock. Raine sighed and walked forward, leaving Genis behind. "We should get going," she said calmly. "The Ossa Trail is far away, and we can't afford to lose any more time than we already have."

"Yeah, let's go. Genis? Are you all right?" Sheena asked. "You look a little pale." She was trying hard to hide her smirk as Genis continued to shiver.

"I-I'm fine…but women are scary…" he mumbled, and then the group set off to the Ossa Trail.

* * *

After only a day later, they had arrived at the mountain path for the Ossa Mountains. Sheena hoped that whoever was occupying her body had enough sense to come here. Sure enough, the black-haired ninja jumped down from the cliff as they approached. And then she fell over.

"It's Colette, isn't it?" Raine sighed.

The girl stood up and brushed herself off and looked at each person in turn, her eyes shining brighter every second. "Genis! Raine! Lloyd! Everyone! I'm so happy I found you!" she said.

"Yup, it's Colette all right," Sheena said, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"How did you know? …And, um, who are you? Because you're obviously not me…" Colette said to Sheena.

"Sheena. And they aren't who you think they are, either…" Sheena reintroduced everyone to Colette, and though she looked hopelessly confused, she assured that she could remember who everyone was.

"Okay! I got it! So, um, Ll-Kratos…you're Lloyd?" The girl cocked her head to the side in confusion, and the stoic teen sighed and nodded. A soft giggle escaped Colette's lips, and she quickly covered he mouth to try to stifle the laughter. It wasn't _that_ funny; why was she laughing?

"We also need to tell you what we have figured about our…predicament," Raine said.

And so began a second explanation. Colette said nothing for a while after that. She seemed to be contemplating the knowledge she had just acquired. Finally, she looked at everyone with a solemn expression on her face, and said, "So we're stuck like this until we get the Eternal Sword?"

"It seems to be that way," Presea answered. Colette sighed.

"You should try to accept it the best you can while you're me," Sheena said with a slight smile on her face. Colette looked up, slightly shocked to hear Sheena be so optimistic about the whole ordeal. It was then that she truly realized what was going on.

_

* * *

_

"Colette!"

_"Lloyd? Hi!"_

_"Colette, I've been looking for you!"_

_"Really? Why?"_

_"Why? I'm your friend, dummy! You want to eat lunch with me again today?"_

_"Sure! Where will we sit?"_

_"Hmmm…how about under the tree?"_

_"Okay!"_

_Colette and Lloyd, both little kids, walked over to the giant oak tree and sat underneath its shady leaves. Lloyd pulled out his sandwich and looked over to the girl as he took a big bite. She looked his way and smiled a sweet smile. Lloyd flushed and looked down._

_Colette's smile faded and was replaced by concern. "Is something wrong, Lloyd?"_

_"N-nothing…" The boy still would not look her way._

_"Is there…something on my face?"_

_"Your nose," he said without thinking. "I-I mean—"_

_He was interrupted by high-pitched giggles. "You're really funny, Lloyd."_

_Lloyd looked up. "R-really? Th-thanks…" His face turned a deep red color._

_Colette's laughter grew louder. "You look like a tomato!"_

_Lloyd's eyes went wide and the red on his face was replaced by green. "Tomato…?"_

_"Yeah! Is…something wrong with that?"_

_Lloyd's nose wrinkled and he looked disgusted._

_"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say anything offending…" she trailed._

_"N-no! It's not that! I just don't like tomatoes; that's all!"_

_The young girl cocked her head to the side. "You don't like tomatoes? Why?"_

_"Well…let's just say I've had a lot of bad experiences with them." He grinned sheepishly and rubbed his small hand on the back of his neck._

_Again, Colette giggled. "You're really funny, Lloyd. I think we'll be good friends!"_

_"Yeah!"_

So this is what it's like to have a friend…_ She thought._

And then Sheena woke up. "What the…? What was that?" she mumbled. Looking around, she noticed that it was still dark. The only sound was the occasional stir from one of her friends. Finally assuring herself that no one was awake, she laid back down and thought about the dream while trying to will herself back to sleep. Why had she dreamt about Lloyd and Colette? And, more importantly, why did it feel like it had actually happen? Absentmindedly, she picked up a long strand of blond hair and played with it. It was just so weird. What was happening to them?

Finally, she was lulled back to sleep by her own thoughts, and everything about the dream she'd had was completely forgotten.

* * *

They reached Izoold by dusk, and quickly found an inn to stay in for the night. The room that they could afford wasn't much, and some of them ended up sleeping on the floor, but it was better than the ground, at least. Each person nodded off, leaving only Sheena awake by midnight. She knew that she should get to sleep, but she was concerned about something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She cursed herself for not remembering, then finally gave into the inevitable sleep.

* * *

In the morning, Kratos rose before anyone else and decided to acquire transportation to Palmacosta. Unfortunately for everyone in the village, he hated waking up. This showed on his face as he passed the several villagers, who backed out of his way out of fear for their lives. He stormed onto the dock on which Max's boat was docked. Said man was currently swabbing the deck. Kratos didn't hesitate and just walked up to him, a glower on his face.

"My group and I need a ride on your boat to Palmacosta," he said simply. There was no point in cordial greetings; it was necessary to get on that boat as quickly as possible, and the quickest way to achieve this goal was curt conversation.

"No way, man. I'm _not_ going out there. Haven't you heard about the monsters? I'm not risking my life to bring someone I've never even met to Palmacosta." Max crossed his arms with a final tone.

Kratos moved so quickly that Max didn't realize that a sword was held to his neck until he felt it touch his flesh. "Now," Kratos said, the glare he wore manifesting itself in the words he spoke, "I'll ask again. Will you take us to Palmacosta? I would love to avoid any…_accidents_."

"…Y-yes, sir. W-we'll leave i-in an hour…" Max was trembling by the time Kratos was satisfied with the man.

"Very well. Good day." He walked back to the inn to wake the others up.

* * *

"Ahh!" Colette screamed as she rammed into a girl. Both of them fell to the ground, breaking the infamous Palma Potion at the same time. Kratos resisted the urge to facepalm.

"The Palma Potion! You imbecile! That cost us a thousand Gald!" the man next to her shouted. "You! You're gonna buy us a new one to replace the one _you_ broke!"

Oh, no. Not these losers. Couldn't they just get through this without any problems? What did the world have against them?

Kratos narrowed his eyes and walked toward the group of imposters. "Go away," he ordered. "We were never here."

"Wh-what?" the big ape man scoffed. "We're not going anywhere until we get that potion!"

"We're the Chosen's group—the _real_ Chosen's group—and you have angered her. Should she bring down the wrath of the heavens?" Kratos threatened. "Or should I just give you a taste of my sword?" He touched the hilt of his sword menacingly, and the imposters' eyes widened. Kratos was _scary_.

"We should just leave," the Raine imposter said to the group. At least one of them was rational.

"But the potion!" Colette's impersonator said.

"We don't need it that bad. Besides, we've already got the book. Later, _Chosen_," the witch sneered. And they disappeared.

A long moment passed before anyone said anything. They all just stared at Kratos with shock. Finally, Raine broke the silence. "Kratos, is something wrong?" she asked softly. She was afraid to speak any louder because of the look on his face at that moment.

"…They pissed me off." Kratos walked on ahead of them, leaving them astonished.

* * *

I think I enjoy torture more than should be physically possible. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. It took longer than expected because of a serious case of Writer's Block. GRR! Well, at least it's out. Yay!

Okay, for all you readers out there, if you haven't read my story Outcast, then please go to my profile. I desperately need help, and only you can help. If you'll be so kind as to read the "STORY STATUS" section of it, I'll love you forever. Thanks!


	9. Skipping Stuff

Okay, I'm going to say this, here and now. I don't plan to cover every detail of the trip, because that would be painfully boring to both you and me. So I'm going to skip some stuff. You'll notice that I just kind of skim over some things, and then I'll dive deep into their minds when I get to a good spot. Okay? Okay. Just so you know. Sorry if you had wanted me to do that…

Also, I'm sorry this and my other stories are so late. I've been so busy with school that I almost have had no time to myself. I know; it's terrible. Feel sorry for me. I command you. Just kidding. Or am I…? Yeah, I am. I don't want your pity. I only want my teachers' pity. Stupid school.

Also, here's a note: I'm doing NaNoWriMo next month. So don't expect any updates that month. And if you get them, please feel free to kill me. Thank you for understanding, and that is all.

Please read on.

**Chapter 9: Skipping Stuff**

_Another day, over_, he thought while lying in bed. The moon outside shone brightly, but it wasn't the moon that had bathed him in light every night since he was born. No, this was Tethe'alla's moon. It was peaceful in its own way, reminding him that Sylvarant was still out there…somewhere. He had thought once that he should try to go home, but the small voice that he had dubbed his conscience had told him not to screw up this timeline anymore than it already was.

Sure, he missed Colette's smiling face, and even Genis' sarcastic remarks and Raine's lessons, but was that any reason to possibly screw up whatever parallel universe he was in? It probably wasn't a wise choice.

And so, Lloyd was stuck in Zelos' body until the Regeneration Group came to Tethe'alla. If they ever did.

Not that he was complaining. The advanced Tethe'allan technology was amazing. And the service was great, too. Lloyd thought this as the bedroom door swung open and Sebastian walked in, carrying a silver platter. _Yum; quiche…_

"Master Zelos," Sebastian called. "The snack you requested has arrived."

"Thanks, Sebastian!" Lloyd said cheerfully as he dug into the food. Sebastian merely nodded and left without another word. Lloyd finished the snack in no time at all, leaving him satisfied, yet unfulfilled. It had been so long since he had nothing to do, and he was restless, almost _hoping_ for someone to come bursting through the door with some problem they needed him to fix.

His calls were not answered.

And so he went to sleep feeing empty inside, dreading the day ahead of him that would most likely be filled with raving girls, parties, and nothing productive.

* * *

The next day, Lloyd woke to the sun shining brightly in his face. He couldn't reach the heavy curtains, and so he had to get out of the bed to close them. And by that time, he was fully awake. He cursed Zelos' architecture.

_Another day with those girls…_he thought. Strangely, as repulsive the idea had sounded yesterday, he felt quite the opposite about it this morning. He felt almost eager to get outside and drape his arms over the women. What was happening to him?

As he walked down the stairs, the smell of breakfast drifted to his nose, and all lingering thoughts dispersed. He made his way into the dining room and sat down at the head of the table. Sebastian brought his food out, and almost instantly, the food was gone.

"You continue to amaze me, Master Zelos," Sebastian chuckled as he left the room.

And then, it was time.

Time to go outside and act like Zelos. Which, surprisingly, wasn't that hard to do. In fact, once he was outside, Lloyd felt as if he had been doing this for his entire life.

"Hello, hunnies! Hope you didn't miss me too much!" At his voice, the noblewomen swooned, and Lloyd took an almost natural pose, draping each arm around a different girl. Then he led them around Meltokio, casually flirting with every woman he passed.

* * *

He had to say, he was certainly getting better at swordsmanship. He wasn't quite up to the level he had been in his own body because Lloyd's wasn't used to using only one sword, but it was getting there. Everyone else was doing well, too. Sheena was still having trouble using chakrams, and was very disappointed when she learned that she couldn't use her cards, but she perked up soon after and helped Colette to learn how to use them. Colette also promised to help Sheena with the chakrams. Presea was also dealing with using too much strength to swing the little sword, but she was getting really good with the technique. Raine had finally learned a few more spells, such as Spread and Lightning, and Genis alternatively learned the healing spells Nurse, Recover, and Dispel. Both had studied for days on end to learn them. Every single person in their group was dead tired just from that, and they still had a long way to go. Sheena had only released two seals. She could no longer eat or sleep…the poor girl.

Now, as they stood before Magnius, none of it mattered. They only knew that they had to win, at whatever costs.

"So, the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin have arrived," Magnius sneered as his floating chair descended from above.

"You're the one who's forsaken!" Kratos heard himself say. Had he _ever_ put so much emotion into his words before? Oh, well, now was not the time to worry about the changes that he was going through. Now it was time to kill the Grand Cardinal and rescue the prisoners.

Magnius narrowed his eyes at the group. "Don't speak to me that way, vermin. It isn't wise to anger me."

Raine scoffed. "And what makes you think we care? Come on, we can take you, no problem!"

Genis resisted the urge to facepalm. How could she say that so easily? They were still learning how to fight using a different style. Why was she so eager to get them all killed?

"Such big words from such a small kid. No matter; I'll fight you." Magnius stood up from his floating chair and grabbed his massive ax.

Kratos and Presea rushed in first, both swiping their blades simultaneously, catching them off guard. Sheena ran up and attempted to throw the chakram. It hit her mark, but, sadly, it didn't come back. This meant that one of her weapons was stuck in the side of Magnius. Colette, too, was having difficulties, because magic floating cards tend to be a little difficult to handle. And this was her first big fight. She ran up to Magnius and swiped at him with the card. Surprisingly, the other cards in her hand followed the first and all hit the half-elf with a tiny mana explosion.

"Yay! I got it!" she cried, and then the cards fell to the ground. "Darn it…" She tried to pick up the cards without being hit by the other fighters. Meanwhile, Sheena had pried the chakram from Magnius and threw another. This time, it came spiraling back toward her, and she shot her hand to catch it. It landed neatly in her hand, and she smirked.

"Ha! Take that!" She threw it again, and again, she caught it as it came back. Mentally, she leaped for joy. Now that she had mastered the basics, it was time for something a little more…complicated. She took a big breath and concentrated before shouting "Ray Thrust!" Her shoulders slumped when the chakram wound up in Magnius' side yet again.

Behind all of the commotion, Raine and Genis stood side-by-side, casting spells as quickly as possible. This proved to be quite difficult, naturally, but that had already known this. Raine cast a fairly strong Spread and Genis healed Colette, who had gained a gash on her arm while picking up the cards.

Magnius was certainly a force to be reckoned with, at least in the party's current state. But eventually, Magnius dropped to the floor and Kratos pulled his sword out of the half-elf's chest. Kratos stared down at him and, without blinking, said coldly, "Blame your fate."

"Ugh! But…how? How could a superior half-elf like me…?" Magnius started, but Presea stopped him.

"It is because you are a fool, Magnius," she said monotonously. Without waiting for his final words, the girl took her sword and pushed it into his chest, straight through the heart. Magnius died on the spot.

"Well…now that that's over, who's going to activate the self-destruct timer?" Genis asked. "Raine?"

"…I'll try." Raine walked up to the controls for the ranch and stood on tip-toe to see them. "Let's see…" she said to herself. She pressed a small blue button and a few black ones—the keypad, everyone presumed—and then warning bells rang through the halls. "Got it. Now, let's get out of here."

They nodded in agreement, and then ran as fast as they could to get out.

They'd already evacuated the prisoners before coming here, and so the only thing left to do was to get themselves out. By the time they reached the front gate, Neil was waiting for them. He was quickly ushered away before the massive ranch exploded into a million little bits of metal.

"We made it," Raine huffed. "But where did Chocolat go? I didn't see her in the crowd of prisoners."

"She was among the first group to be released from the ranch. She should already be in Palmacosta," Presea stated.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sheena sighed in relief.

"Well, at least she doesn't hate you, Kratos." Raine gave him a pointed stare and crossed her arms. "…Why didn't you kill Marble?"

"At the time, I wasn't aware that it was important to murder an old lady for no reason just so her granddaughter could hate my guts." Kratos glared back.

"W-well, maybe it's not _that_ important," Colette said, trying to calm the group down.

"Let's hope not," Genis huffed. This ended the less-than-pleasant conversation, and they continued on their journey, whether they liked it or not.

* * *

I didn't actually think I'd get this done before November. But it's done now! And I even put in a little something from Tethe'alla! Yay! So, please review, I hope to see you all in December.

Wish me luck!

Please?


	10. It's the End of the World as We Know It

Well, I didn't win. NaNoWriMo sucks. Grr. I guess I'll try again next year. I was thinking about doing something based of Tales of Symphonia (even though I can't do it). Summary: Once upon a time, a dude named Floyd saved the world with his friends Celeste, Penis, Rina, Kyle, Sylvia, Zero, Priscilla, and Royal and the Eternal Pumpkin. How's that?

Just kidding.

I made a funny!

Blah.

Go away.

Or not.

Because I want you to read this.

But you don't have to.

Actually, yes. Yes, you do.

Or you will die.

Because Mithos will KILL YOU ALL!

Except he's already dead.

Sorry, Mithos.

I loved him like a lover.

*licks lips*

Rawr.

Come here, Mithos.

Climb onto my bed.

Now.

I probably shouldn't be typing this.

Because I have three young children peering over my shoulder as I put these words in paper.

Oh, well.

As I always say: if you don't know something, you might as well learn it.

So, Miiithoooos!

Come. Here. Now.

*screams in the distance*

I'm closing this door now.

Bye!

Have fun!

Hope you're not scarred for life!

**Mithos:** No! Oh, Goddess Martel, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*door slams shut*

Disclaimer: O ToS, o ToS, wherefore art thou, ToS?  
Deny thy creator and refuse thy name,  
Or, if thou wilt not, but be sworn my love,  
And I'll forever be a fangirl.  
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.  
Thou art thyself, though not a "Tales of" game.  
O, be some other name!  
What's in a name?  
That which we call a Wii  
By any other name would be as great.  
So ToS would, were it not ToS called,  
Retain that dear perfection  
Which it owes to us without that title.  
ToS, doff thy name, and for thy name,  
Which is no part of thee, take all myself.

(In other words, if, in some parallel universe, Tales of Symphonia were called something else, I might be blessed with the beautiful amazingness that is owning the game. But we live in this universe, which, sadly, is not the one aforementioned, so I do not own it. I'm going to go cry in a corner now.)

**Chapter 10: It's the End of the World as We Know It**

_I can't believe it…_Sheena thought as she sat on the edge of the tall mountain in Hima. _It's almost over. I'm going to become a true angel tomorrow. I hope everything's the same as last time._

It was hard to imagine that they had already spent several months on this journey, fooling everyone they met into believing that Sheena was the Chosen and that she would actually complete the Journey of World Regeneration. And now, it was the day before they left to release the final seal, the one that would strip Sheena of the rest of her humanity. Her heart and her memories…could she really do this? But it wasn't as if she had a choice. She had to go through with this, and trust that the others would find Lloyd—wherever he was—and get him to make the Rune Crest.

It was her last night as a human. Even if she tried to comfort herself with the fact that she wouldn't be lifeless for long, there was no denying the fact that she would in fact be lifeless. And so, Sheena sat on the top of the cliff with her feet dangling off, waiting for night to fall.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, and she turned around to see Colette coming up the pathway. Sheena waved to her, and she smiled back and sat down next to her.

"Hi, Sheena," Colette said, her face a little downcast. Sheena could see that she was trying to stay happy, perhaps to comfort her friend, but it was a simple fact that the natural personality of the body that she had inhabited was not happy-go-lucky.

Sheena grabbed Colette's—her—hand and started writing letters. _Why do you look so sad?_

"Because it's my fault that you have to lose your soul tomorrow," she said with remorseful eyes.

Sheena whipped her head around to disagree with her. _It's not your fault. It's Mithos'._

"But—" she tried, but Sheena started writing again to stop her. _Mithos had Origin create the Eternal Sword and created this messed-up system. He's to blame._

"…You're right; I'm sorry."

_I'm supposed to be the one saying sorry, now, remember?_

"Oh, that's right. Anyway, I guess that's all I came up here for. The others are heading to bed, now. You should come lay down, too. You have a big day ahead of you." Colette started to turn away from Sheena, but then she saw all of the color drain from the silent girl's face. "…Don't worry. We'll find Lloyd, and I _swear_ that we'll get you back to normal."

Sheena only smiled and hoped it was enough to reassure Colette.

* * *

"Get up, _Chosen_," a voice said, jerking Sheena from where she was resting. She couldn't sleep anymore, and so she was mentally exhausted, not to mention _bored_. Her eyes fluttered open, and she almost screamed when she saw Kr-Presea standing over her. The stoic face of Kratos was enough to scare anyone senseless.

Sheena drew a big question mark in the air, which Presea seemed to understand. "We must go to the Tower of Salvation."

She gestured to the unconscious bodies of their friends.

"They'll come soon. But we must leave. _Now_." Presea put a lot of stress on the last word, making Sheena automatically obey. It may have been Presea's soul inside, but her outside looked fierce and unforgiving. She stood up and brushed her robes off, and followed Presea out of the inn and into the unforgiving chill of the mountains. "The dragons are up on the cliff; let's go."

They trekked up the steep slope and to the summit, where they met the dragon trainer. "We're prepared to go to the Tower of Salvation," Presea said to the man.

"I see. Is it only two of you? Then hop on this dragon. He's the most skilled out of all of them. Good luck, Chosen." The man smiled as he prepared saddles to go on the backs of the animals, and Sheena faked a smile.

_It's just about time…_

When the dragons were ready for takeoff, the "Chosen" and her guardian mounted it and made themselves comfortable. The wings began beating, and just as the clawed feet left the ground, someone came running up the side of the mountain.

"Wait! Sheena!" the voice of Lloyd called. Sheena looked around and saw Kratos panting as he stopped at the top. Presea also turned around, but once she caught sight of him, she turned back around and hurried the dragon along. It flew off the mountain and into the air.

* * *

"Wait!" Kratos called. The dragon sped up and Sheena's protests were lost in the wind. _Dammit…_

He ran back down the cliff and into their hotel room, busting open the door in the process. "They left!" he shouted, successfully waking everyone present.

"Huh?" Raine moaned groggily.

"What are you talking about, Lloyd?" Colette said with her eyes closed. Her eyes snapped open as she realized her mistake. "Oh! Sorry, Kratos!" she said nervously.

"That's not the point," Kratos said curtly, his bad day getting even worse. To be mistaken for his own son…that was a new one. Of course, the circumstances that he was in, that was to be expected. But for Colette to mistake him? Clearly, she missed him. Wherever he was… "Presea left with Sheena! Come on! We have to hurry! We have to be there in case Yggdrasill shows up."

Quickly, they all stood up and rolled up the mats that they had slept on. Then the remaining four left the inn and hurried up to the dragon trainer. "We need two more dragons. We're escorts for the Chosen," Genis explained calmly.

"Certainly," the man said as he saddled the two other dragons. They all mounted a dragon and took off.

_

* * *

_

Oh, Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength.

Sheena repeated the phrase again in her head, wanting to get this torture over with. She mouthed the words to go with the chant, and eventually, the area around her began to glow dimly. She repeated it again, and with each chant, the circle of runes grew ever brighter.

"Sheena, stop!" Kratos said as he rushed into the room.

_Why did he say that?_ Sheena wondered. _He knows I have to do this._ Nonetheless, she stopped the chanting briefly to turn around, the circle fading as she did so. Again, she drew the large question mark in the air to ask him what he was doing.

Genis smacked him then, and Kratos clutched his head. "Shut up! I don't want her to do this either, but we all know that we have to."

"Sorry…" the teen mumbled, and then he looked back up at Sheena.

"Sorry. Go ahead." He dipped his head down again, and mumbled, almost too quietly for her to hear, "I'm so sorry…"

With those words etched into her mind, she turned back around and began praying silently again. As she finished, the magic circle shot upwards with a glowing ring of light, emanating sparkles. Without her direction, her emerald wings tearing out from her back. A light tingling sensation spread across her back, and she knew that, if she could feel anything, she would be doubling over in pain. Then, moving of their own free will, the wings began flapping and lifted her from the ground as Remiel appeared and floated downward. They met in the middle, both angels hovering face-to-face.

"Now, my daughter, release the final seal. In doing so, you will complete the final sacrifice of your human existence: your heart and your memories. In doing so of your own free will, you will become a true angel!" Remiel said to her. A wild smile could hardly be suppressed on his face, and Sheena could see the crazed glint in his eyes as he spoke this.

"…"

What could she do? Of course she didn't want to become a lifeless being, but, if she wanted the timeline to stay somewhat intact, then she had to. That meant that she had to give up her heart and memories. But Remiel said that she had to do so of her own free will. How could she do that? How could she possibly give up what made her human? How could she give away her heart without a second thought? Was that even possible? But Colette had done it for the sake of world regeneration. She had sacrificed her life for her friends because she had thought there was no other way. Was that how she did it? Was it the only way to lose her soul? To become Colette…?

All of the urges she had been fighting; every feeling she had fought; every Colette-like notion she had forced down…it was time to let them appear. She had tried to stay "Sheena", but it seemed that what she had known was inevitable had finally become necessary. She had to become Colette.

Sheena closed her eyes and let the suppressed personality rise in her and take over. It absorbed every part of her being and she allowed herself to disperse. She silently said goodbye to her past self and hoped that, when she was finally in her own body again, it would rise again and she would be "Sheena".

A few moments passed and she blanked out, completely unconscious for about five seconds. When she had finally regained her consciousness, she looked around and saw the saddened looks of her friends and the proud face of Lord Remiel urging her to give up her human existence. The Tower of Salvation gleamed around her, and she was reminded of all of the suffering people. She had to save the world. What was she doing? She should have already given her soul to Remiel…her father. She closed her eyes and willed away her heart and memories. She didn't want to forget about Lloyd or Genis, the only two friends she ever had. She didn't want to forget about Professor Raine, her kind teacher that willingly taught her, even while knowing her fate. She didn't want to forget Grandmother or Father, her loving caretakers that treated her like a person and not like a holy being. All of those people—the people that meant the most to her. They were the people that she was saving the world for. They were the reason that she had lived these sixteen years. And now…it was time to give up those sweet memories and bring to them the joy and happiness that they had brought her.

She started glowing, the sparkles from her wings surrounding her. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness for a second time, except that this one, she knew, she would never wake up from. Her eyes closed, and she died.

* * *

"No!" Kratos yelled as Sheena's eyes opened, revealing the red eyes that indicated that she was nearly dead. Her Cruxis Crystal had turned grey, and now, she was merely a puppet. He didn't know why, but a blinding rage consumed him. How could Cruxis do something this terrible to an innocent girl? She hadn't asked to be a sacrifice! So why...?

"Hahahahaha!" Remiel laughed, breaking Kratos' thoughts. "I've done it! Martel's vessel is finally complete! With this, I'll become one of the Four Seraphim!"

"No, you won't!" Raine shouted from beside Kratos.

"You can't have her!" Colette chimed in.

"Come on, Llo—Kratos. Let's defeat him!" Genis said, and once again, Kratos ignored the name confusion. He took a battle stance and held his sword somewhat clumsily in his hand. No matter how hard they trained, his sword was always heavier than what the body was used to. It wasn't too much of an obstacle, but it slowed him down on numerous occasions. Of course, his slowness could be because of the fact that he was human.

But none of that mattered now. He rushed up to the angel who still had a cocky smile on his face, chuckling lightly because of his disbelief. He slashed at Remiel, who dodged the blow easily. Kratos continued slashing at the air and spun around, following through and successfully hitting his enemy, even though the wound that he created was shallow. Suddenly not amused, Remiel narrowed his eyes and prepared a spell. White runes appeared under his feet and he began chanting quietly. Kratos desperately tried to stop the spell, but to no avail. Remiel cast Holy Lance and knocked Kratos down.

Behind, Genis attempted to cast a First Aid, and though it was still weak compared to Raine's, the spell was getting stronger. He knew that if he could cast his normal offensive spells, he would have had no trouble casting Meteor Storm and ending the battle. Unfortunately, Raine's body was not adapted to transform mana into the elements, which they had both learned very early on in life. It was he that was able to cast elemental spells, and so Raine had given those spell books to him, even though she had really wanted to learn. But a half-elf could only be adapted to a certain type of casting, and Raine could only do healing magic and a few light spells because of the similarities to the former. Genis was gifted, Raine would say, because he was able to deal damage instead of heal it. But Genis also knew that he would never had been able to survive those first few years of his life without his sister's magic. It was a downfall of half-elves, because pureblood elves could do both, but they accepted it as the fact that they were half human, and therefore limited with magic.

And so he and Raine tried to figure out how to cast each others' spells without doing any harm to anyone except the enemies. Genis closed his eyes to concentrate, his kendama hanging limply at his side—he had long given up on trying to use it as a medium—and chanted. He forced himself to picture Nurse healing everyone, and he focused on the mana that was welling up inside of him. It was a difficult task, but with Remiel shooting arrows and casting faster than light itself, it had to be done. It didn't matter that he'd never successfully executed Nurse before.

Beside him, Raine attempted another spell that had never been properly completed: Eruption. Finally, she had learned the novice spells that Genis used, and now she had to practice with the intermediate. It was definitely harder than the novice spells, but she thought that she was getting the hang of how to perform each one. She had read every single book on the subject of offensive magic, and she'd memorized the rune patterns for each spell. Now it had come down to practicing what she learned. She focused the mana being absorbed and her energy, and attempted to mold it into fire. A warmth encircled her body and she knew that she had accomplished that much. The next step was moving the fire below her enemy and sending it surging upward, creating a small volcano underneath him. Raine concentrated on Remiel and pushed the fire mana toward him, laid it on the ground, and released the tension that had been building up inside of her. A red-orange circle formed underneath Remiel and waves of fire washed over him as Eruption was cast. She had done it. It had taken almost five minutes, but she had done it.

Remiel cried out in pain as Eruption seared his flesh. After about five seconds, however, it died down and Remiel was left standing, laughing defiantly. "Is that the best you've got, half-elf?" he mocked. Raine narrowed her eyes and prepared another spell.

"Nurse!" Genis cried, and Raine and Colette were bathed in green light. Kratos, who was hacking away at Remiel, did not receive any healing, even though he was the one who needed it most. "Damn," Genis muttered. "I forgot to extend the range further…"

Back at the frontlines, Kratos tried not to collapse as Remiel hit him with yet another arrow. His side was spilling blood, his face had a red scar across it, and both arms and legs were bruised severely. He gritted his teeth against the pain and slashed at the angel again, making another shallow wound in Remiel's side.

Colette ran up to the angel and shouted "Pyre Seal!" as she threw her cards at him. She focused on making the cards float and then explode. Only one of them blew up, but at least all of the cards stayed in the air this time. As she collected the cards, she thought about Sheena's other techniques. Could she actually do something of a higher level? If she tried to do a Life Seal, would it work? It was worth a shot. She gathered up all of the energy she could muster and ran toward him. As she approached, she extended her arm wide and swiped, pushing the cards into the air in a wide arc. As she shouted "Life Seal!" the cards seemed to go through Remiel, and when they appeared again, they were glowing green—Remiel's life. Colette caught the magic cards and the green glow transferred to her. She suddenly felt a lot stronger. At last, she was getting the hang of using Sheena's weapon.

With another Eruption, a few Life Seals, a Sonic Thrust, and a Demon Fang, Remiel fell to the floor, clutching at his wounds.

"Heh," a new and familiar voice said. Everyone present turned to the new face in the room and saw Presea with her arms crossed over her chest, looking smugly at the dying Remiel.

"Presea! Where have you been?" Genis asked the girl, who merely glanced at the half-elf before turning to Kratos.

"We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel," Presea said monotonously.

"Presea…what are you saying?" Kratos asked. He knew that he had said this before—those exact words—but he still didn't understand what she was talking about.

Remiel spoke up from his dying spot on the ground. "Lord…Kratos…have pity on me. Please, heal me."

"Have you forgotten? I am of the inferior race—a human. Do you honestly seek help from that which you despise most?" Presea cocked an eyebrow as Remiel lost the strength to hold himself up, and he fell to the floor with a _thud_ and died.

"Presea…?" Colette asked softly. "What are you doing?"

"I am here to reclaim what we have been developing for sixteen years. It is time that the Chosen merges with Martel." Presea took a step closer to Sheena, but before she could grab the floating angel, Kratos ran up the steps leading to the altar and blocked his way with his sword. "Get out of my way," she said calmly.

"No! I won't let you take her! Remember? We have to fix all of this! We have to go to Tethe'alla! What are you doing, Presea?" Kratos' face was fierce as he stood in front of Sheena and protected her from Cruxis.

"Then I guess I have no choice…" Presea said. She took a step back and began glowing. A bright light flashed, and when it died down, blue wings flapped behind her. "Fight."

In shock of the realization, Kratos was caught off-guard, and Presea rushed in and slashed across his stomach. Blood poured out of his abdomen, and the pain extended throughout his body. The loss of blood was making him light-headed. Maybe if he just sat down for a second…

* * *

"Kratos!" Raine called as her friend collapsed. Presea paid no heed, but instead jumped down from the altar and ran toward the remaining group at lightning-fast speed.

She reached the closest person to her, Raine, and drew back her sword. "Lightning Blade!" she called as she thrust forward. Lightning struck down upon her, and then, without mercy, she followed it up with a "Super Lighting Blade!" This successfully fried all of Raine's rationality, and, in a daze, she stumbled about, trying not to fall.

Presea's next victim was Genis. She took a few steps back and concentrated on casting a spell. Soon, before Genis could cast First Aid, Presea shouted, "Grave!" Black spears of stone emerged from her ground, stabbing Genis and tearing up hid skin and clothes. He crumpled to the floor, and Presea moved on to Colette. Wanting to deal some damage but not sure if she could, she ran up to him and shouted, "Pyre Se—!" And Presea stabbed her. Colette's eyes went wide as Presea pulled her sword from her stomach, and, no longer being held up by something, she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Meanwhile, Kratos' rest time was over, and he cracked his eyes open. He saw his friends lying on the ground, unconscious. He gasped, and Presea heard. Her head whipped around to see that Kratos was trying to stand, cursing his bloody abdomen.

"You know that you can't win. Your friends are almost dead. You're bleeding to death. How do you think you'll fare against me?" Presea mocked.

"D…dammit…" Lloyd whispered. In the blink of an eye, Presea appeared in front of Kratos, holding his sword menacingly over Kratos. He couldn't die here…he had to save the world…

Suddenly, the world around him flashed white, and Presea came out of her fighting stance. Kratos turned to look behind him as Presea bowed down to her leader.

"Lord Yggdrasill," she said.

Yggdrasill looked down and saw the unconscious people, Presea, Colette's limp body, and Kratos struggling to breathe. "Lloyd!" he exclaimed as flew down to meet him face-to-face.

"No…you're wrong…" Kratos panted.

"Oh? Then who are you?" Yggdrasill asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Give me your name and I shall give you mine," Kratos said without thinking. Then, realizing that he had said those words, his eyes widened and he attempted to correct himself. "I-I mean…Kr-Kratos…"

"Wh-what? You mean I'm not the only one?" the blond angel murmured, more to himself then to Kratos. His eyes widened.

"Huh?" the human said, trying to make sense of things. "Wait. Are you…Yuan?"

"Well, half of me," he shrugged. Then, strangely, his eyes narrowed and he talked, but it seemed as if he was talking to himself. "I like to think that _I_ am the dominant half, however." Yggdrasill's expression changed yet again, this time into a mocking face. "Oh? I am the one who originally _owned_ this body. You just came and tried to take over. Well, it's not going to work!"

"I'm confused…" Kratos said as he shook his head, fighting the pain that had made its way to his head.

"That doesn't take much," Yggdrasill said, still mockingly. Then his face contorted into rage and he said, "Don't mock others in my body!"

"Wh-what are you doing?" Kratos asked.

"It's very simple, Lloyd—I mean, _Kratos_—something happened, and we were sent back in time. It seems we weren't the only ones who switched bodies, also," the angel explained.

He understood that much, but something was still bothering him. "So…who are you?"

"Yuan," he said. Then his eyes narrowed again in annoyance and added, "_And_ Yggdrasill."

"W-wait! I thought Mithos was in Yuan's body!" Kratos said, shocked.

"One half of him is. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with Mr. Fruity himself," the Yuan half said dramatically.

Kratos' head now hurt twice as much.

"Lord Yggdrasill…Yuan…the Chosen…?" Presea interjected from behind.

"Oh, right." Yggdrasill reached out to grab Sheena, but then his arms stopped and flew back to smack the leader of Cruxis' face. "Don't touch the Chosen!"

Kratos wanted to see the rest of the amusing scene, but something sharp penetrated his side. He turned around and saw that Kratos had stabbed him again, and he slid to the ground, out cold.

* * *

"Damn!" Botta said as he appeared in the altar room. "The Chosen's already completed the transformation! Take everyone that is unconscious!"

The Renegades that had followed Botta in dispersed and grabbed any unconscious body that they could find. They each carried one of the heroes and two of them escorted the soulless Sheena, and they all fled the tower.

"Damn, they got away," Yggdrasill muttered. Again his face changed expressions, and a proud Yuan stated, "The Renegades are such great people. They _will_ take you down this time, too. Just like last time." Then Yggdrasill snorted, "_Sure_, they will."

"Lord Yggdrasill, Yuan…you are very confusing," Presea stated simply before warping away.

* * *

I think I'll save my explanation in the Renegade Base for next chapter. You guys will need a little refresher if I keep taking half a year to update this. Sigh. I'm so, so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to take so long. I had expected to have ideas galore when I finished NaNoWriMo, and then write, write, write, and write until I had at least seven chapters of each story done. But, lo and behold, here I am, struggling to finish even one measly little chapter of Switch, three months after my last update. Pathetic, isn't it? Sigh again. Well, I guess I'll go try to write another one of my stories. I think I'll do High School, because I suddenly got a burst of inspiration today. Which is a step up from every other freaking day since I posted the Halloween chapter.

Sigh.


	11. A KindofNew World

Hey! Guess what! This _isn't_ and illusion! It's really an update! Isn't it weird?

Sorry this has taken so long. You see, when I work on something for a long time, I tend to lose my motivation to continue it. Which is bad. So, now I'm forcing myself to write this. Because I feel bad about not wanting to write stuff recently.

**Chapter 11: A Kind-of-New World**

"Urgh…" Kratos groaned as he came out of unconsciousness. A bloody and scarred hand twitched and his head flopped limply to the side.

"He's awake!" Raine called from his side. She hopped up from the bed and gave him some room so that he could try to move. Kratos had been injured badly, if not the worst of all of them. She'd been so worried about him; he _was_ her best friend, after all.

Wait—no, that wasn't right. _Lloyd_ was _Genis'_ best friend. Lately, she hadn't been able tell the two thoughts apart.

Kratos' eyelids fluttered opened, revealing startlingly red, bloodshot eyes. He squeezed them tightly, then opened them again and looked around the room. "…The…Renegade Base…" he said hoarsely.

"Yes," Genis responded. "The Renegades came to our aid again, it seems."

"We were waiting for you to wake up so we could head to Tethe'alla to continue the journey," Colette added.

"Tethe'alla…?" Kratos mumbled to himself, still half-asleep. Blinking quickly, he shook his head and said, "Oh, yeah. There. Why are we going there again?" He was speaking quietly, so everyone had to strain to hear him.

"…Because…we have to save Sheena…" Colette said slowly, phrasing it almost as a question. "Don't you remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I just feel like I'm…not as quick as I was before," he said slowly, as if not sure himself.

No one had time to comment on this strange, yet inevitable, occurrence that had just been thrown at them. A Renegade came into the room then with Mithos. The first thing the group noticed was that the "leader" of the Renegades was not wearing Yuan's cape. It was only the second time they'd seen Yuan's body without the cape covering him, and it was quite a shock.

"Not quite so cape dependent anymore, huh?" Colette smirked.

Mithos scowled, but then waved her comment off and said, "I'd imagine that you all know what's happened, right?"

"Sheena's gone, Yuan and Yggdrasill are both in your older body…yeah, we know the gist," Raine said, speaking for everyone.

As she finished, however, Mithos looked shocked. "Wh-what? What about Yuan and Yggdrasill?"

"They're…in your older self?" Kratos repeated slowly, wondering why Mithos seemed so confused.

"But…I thought…oh. Well, this'll be interesting," he mumbled to himself. "Very interesting."

"What?" Raine asked, not sure what was going on. "You didn't know?"

"No; I assumed that I was both of the 'me's, but I guess this makes more sense. I mean, here I am, the leader of a powerful organization, and I wasn't even using it against you. Instead, I was helping you. I guess I really _am_ only the Mithos from four thousand years ago. But that means that the other Mithos is connected with Yuan inside of my new form."

"So, what will happen?" Genis asked, wary of the answer.

"I…don't know. I've never done anything like this. And I…can't remember if I'd done anything like this after Cruxis was set up. I'm sorry." Mithos hung his head, sad that he couldn't tell them anything.

"It's all right. We should just be careful around him, right, guys?" Kratos said, looking around at his comrades. "In any case, we should head to Tethe'alla. We've got to save Sheena!"

It was strange how much he'd already recovered, considering that he had been lying unconscious only a few minutes before. But Lloyd always had been quick to recuperate; it was probably because of his Exsphere. So the rest of the group thought nothing of his condition and merely agreed with him. They did have to go to Tethe'alla; it was, now, only a matter of whether or not Mithos would let them.

"To save Sheena?" Mithos mused. "I…can't let you go." He seemed almost—_almost_—sorry for his words. "I need you, Kratos. It's the only way that I can think of."

"What?" Kratos asked, incredulous. "Why do you need me?"

"You're Lloyd. Presea is your…father? Mother? Whatever. She's now related to you. She's betrayed you all. She won't release Origin's seal unless we have something to use against her. Can't you see that? I don't want to be in this condition."

"…No. We have to save Sheena first," Kratos said firmly.

"I don't want to wait that long," Mithos retorted.

"We have to save her."

"Then I guess that we'll have to take you forcefully." Mithos smiled sadly and snapped his fingers. A swarm of Renegades ran into the room, weapons drawn and at the ready. "Get them. Don't let them get to the Rheairds." He left the room, leaving it up to the soldiers to take care of the Regeneration group.

"Damn…" Kratos muttered as stood up from the bed.

"We can take them!" Colette called, and then she rushed a troop, waving her cards. Raine watched her, briefly stunned. It seemed that Kratos wasn't the only one who'd changed drastically during the time when she was unconscious. Colette was way more confident in her abilities than she had been before, and it certainly was strange. Raine wondered if she noticed it, too.

Remembering that the fight had begun, she ran to the back of the room and started casting. Everyone else assumed their positions and fought their way through the mob. When enough Renegades had fallen, everyone bolted out of the door. They ran down the halls of the base and into the room where they remembered the hangar to be. The door shut behind them, but soon opened again, revealing several Renegades. They advanced, swords and bows drawn. Soon, the group was surrounded.

"Get them!" one called. They came forward again, but before they could get too close, Sheena ran to the front of the group. Her movements looked awkward and unpracticed, but she moved quickly. An unfortunate soldier didn't stop running toward them, and Sheena grabbed his wrist and threw him to the other side of the room. A loud crunching sound met their ears. The soldiers stopped, not wanting to cross paths with the soulless angel.

"Let's go! Come on, Sheena!" Raine called. Though she gave no sign of hearing her words, Sheena turned around and followed the group. The Renegades, too scared to follow, tried to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, everyone had finally reached the hangar.

"Grab a Rheaird!" Kratos shouted and mounted the nearest one. Sheena followed him without looking and climbed on behind him. Kratos looked behind him to make sure that Sheena was holding on and then started the machine. Squinting his eyes against the wind that would soon be blowing on his face, he shot out of the hangar through the hole that had appeared and through the dimensional barrier.

* * *

"Tethe'alla…" Genis muttered under his breath. Not even Raine, who sat behind him, could hear him over the wind. They'd made it this far. Now, all that they had to do was get the Eternal Sword. And they would get it. It was hard being his own sister; he just wanted to be himself again…

Below him, Genis saw the Fooji Mountains coming closer. That was also when he heard a tiny, almost inaudible _pop_. Fearing the worst, he looked back at the Rheaird and saw that the fuel tank was empty.

So, they had to fall out of the sky a second time, didn't they? Well, that sucked.

"Guys!" Colette yelled from the Rheaird next to him. "The fuel gauge is empty!" As she said that, her Rheaird trembled violently and began to descend, increasing rapidly. "Ahhh!"

The others were also falling, clutching onto the machine for dear life. Sheena, however, was suspended in the air with her wings unfurled. She gradually floated down and quickly became merely a dot in the sky to Genis. He closed his eyes and waited for the Rheaird to crash-land.

* * *

"Well, that doesn't look good…" Colette commented as she surveyed the Rheairds. They were in much worse condition than they had been last time, and two of them were completely unfixable.

"Nope," Raine chimed in.

"I guess we'll have to get more Rheairds when we infiltrate the Renegade Base again," Kratos said simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Though they weren't expecting his blasé tone, they agreed with him and then set off down the mountain path.

"We're back in Tethe'alla. Doesn't it feel weird?" Genis mused.

"What?" Colette asked, confused.

"I mean, I feel as though I actually haven't been here before. And yet I know I have. It's a strange feeling, to say the least," he mumbled.

"Oh. Well, I started here, so that's probably why I don't feel the same."

"I agree with you, Sis—I-I mean, Genis," Raine stammered. Genis flushed slightly and looked down at Raine. Why did Lloyd have to start this whole thing?

Everyone pretended as if they hadn't heard Raine's words and proceeded down the trail and to Meltokio. They had to find the others.

* * *

"Oh, Master Zelos!" the girl giggled as the red-head cupped her face with a loving hand.

The rest of the group just stood there, stunned. "Z-Zelos?" Colette managed to squeak. They were all stunned at how normal whoever was in Zelos' body acted.

"Yes, my darling hunny?" the person said affectionately as he twirled around. He stopped right in his tracks as he saw Kratos, Sheena, Raine, Genis, and Colette all staring at him with gaping mouths. "It's you guys!"

No one said anything until Kratos tilted his head to the side. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Me? Well, I'm you—or would that be me? Either way, I'm Lloyd," he said, slightly confused at the uncertainty of the ordeal.

Everyone's eyes grew wide and their mouths dropped more. "…How?" Raine asked, bewildered. "You're…you're being so…"

"Well, it's fun. You guys should try it some time! Oh, I suppose you can't. None of you are the Chosen of Tethe'alla." Lloyd smiled, prideful of his new status.

"My son…has become the world's greatest philanderer," Kratos sighed. At this, the tables were turned and Lloyd was the one to drop his jaw.

"D-Dad?" Lloyd asked. "You're…me?"

After another laughing fit, this time including Lloyd, the new Chosen sent his extremely confused "hunnies" on their way.

"A-anyway," Kratos said, trying to get the group to regain some sense of composure, "we should find Presea. Or…whoever she is. Who could she be, anyway?"

"Zelos or Regal," Genis said almost immediately. When he got stunned looks, he added, "I guess that I've been paying more attention than usual…"

"Just like the Professor…" Lloyd mused quietly, coming to something of a revelation. Though still confused, his mind seemed to be working at full speed, trying to figure out this puzzle. Lloyd opened his mouth to tell his friends that they needed to go find the others.

"We need to go find the others," Kratos jumped in, not even paying attention to Lloyd.

"R-right…" Lloyd said solemnly, a little downcast to see that his own dad was taking the role of leader away from him.

And so they went up the grand staircase in their little group of misfits until they reached Castle Tethe'alla. They looked around until they spotted the little pink head bobbing through the crowd of people, pulling a large tree.

"It's her!" Raine exclaimed, pointing to Presea's body. Everyone then ran toward the soulless person.

"Hey!" Lloyd called. The small child turned around with a blank stare.

"…" she breathed. She turned around and went on her way toward the church.

"Presea!" Raine cried. Again, the pink-haired person turned around, but this time, she stayed and allowed the group to catch up to her.

As Lloyd approached her, he noticed that she looked exactly the same as when his group had first met her. It was a nostalgic, yet scary, sight. When he had seen Presea for the first time, he hadn't known that she was lifeless. Now that Lloyd knew the effects of the Cruxis Crystal, he was concerned for the safety of either Zelos or Regal, depending on who he was really looking at.

"…Are you okay?" Raine asked, head cocked, as the group finally reached her and noticed Presea's unclear eyes that never moved or blinked and her stiff, poised body that looked ready to attack at a moment's notice. It was the Cruxis Crystal. The Crystal on her had already reverted the person inside her to the state in which they had first found her.

…This whole ordeal was _way_ too confusing.

Lloyd wanted to be back in his own body again. He didn't like Zelos' long hair or his stupid sword or the flashy tank top or the girls…well, he didn't mind the girls. But he still would have preferred to go back to his comfortable and familiar lifestyle. And, naturally, he would have liked to never have known that his own _father_ was parading around in the body of his son.

As a headache formed, Lloyd turned away from his griefs and toward Raine's admittedly crestfallen face. It seemed that she had figured out what Lloyd had already pieced together, too.

"We have to save you!" Raine was ranting. Lloyd thought about how the Professor was always so calm, and now she was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a solution to their problem. "Let's take you to Kate."

"Before we do that," Colette said, stopping Raine from rushing down the grand stairs, "We should go to the king. He needs to give us permission to, you know, do stuff here."

"Oh, good idea. Then, let's go!" Raine turned on her heel and led the group to the enormous, opulent Castle Tethe'alla. Presea lifelessly followed them, still dragging the sacred wood.

Deciding to use the same lie from before, Kratos said, "We're helping to deliver the sacred wood."

"Oh?" one of the guards asked skeptically. "It's not just Presea?"

"…It's…special…" the little girl mumbled, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. It was the first time she'd spoken. And then, as if nothing happened, she trudged into the grandiose building, dragging the wood behind her.

"We'll…just be going now…" Kratos said as he slid past the guards and followed Presea, the rest of the group trailing closely behind.

"Was it this big before?" Raine commented as he turned her head wildly, in awe at the high ceiling, large pillars, and lavish furnishings.

"Yes; you're just half your original size, runt," Lloyd mocked, laughing.

Raine glared. "Want me to incinerate you?"

Lloyd was not deterred. "You really think you're capable of that right now, brat?"

"Hey, you two. Don't fight," Genis shot back at them, and then Raine and Lloyd realized what they were saying.

"…Sorry…" Lloyd mumbled.

"Same," Raine muttered lamely.

They continued to the top of the castle, Kratos leading the way, until they found the King's chambers. Once again, a guard blocked the way into the room. Kratos found himself to be increasingly impatient, and instead of attempting to smooth-talk his way into the room, he merely walked up to the man and stabbed him. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to make the guard stumble out of the way, gasping in pain. "Sorry…" Kratos mumbled before throwing open the doors and storming inside, successfully scaring those inside.

"Ah!" Princess Hilda gasped, shocked.

"Who are you?" demanded the Pope, glaring at the newcomers.

"Uh…" Kratos stopped, not having thought of what he would say before coming in.

Colette sighed and took the stage. "I am…Sheena, from Mizuho. Uh, I came with them because—"

"Them? Are they…from Sylvarant?" the Pope guessed, shock forming on his face as well.

"Most of us," Kratos admitted.

Then, Princess Hilda noticed Lloyd in the back. "Chosen?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

"I joined their group. They're trying to save someone. Sylvarant's Chosen," Lloyd shrugged.

"Wh-what?" King Tethe'alla said weakly. Until now, everyone in the group had thought that the king was merely sleeping. Looks like he'd been eavesdropping on them the whole time. "That's preposterous!" he choked. The poison seemed to be working quickly on him.

"We refuse to allow you to help the Chosen of Sylvarant!" the Pope clarified.

Lloyd sighed with a hint of impatience. "Listen. If we help the Chosen to become a human again, what will we have to worry about? They don't _want_ to complete the Journey of Regeneration. You dig?"

"B-but…" The Pope thought for a moment and a look realization came over his face. "Oh…"

"I see…very well," the king said with a weak wave of his hand. "Help them."

"Thank you," Genis said gratefully. "So you are giving us permission to walk freely in this world, correct?"

"Yes. But do not try anything. Zelos, please watch them. If they try to escape or if they are acting suspicious, please report them immediately."

"Yes, Your Kingliness." Lloyd bowed to him.

"Then, we'll be on our way…" Kratos backed out of the room slowly. The others followed and closed the door behind them.

* * *

"Maybe we should see if Regal's body is in the Meltokio jail still," Genis commented, stopping Raine from rushing down the grand stairs.

"Right," Kratos approved. "It would save time by checking now before continuing this journey."

And so the group, now including Presea's body, followed Colette to the Coliseum. Once inside the building, they attempted to choose the best fighter of the group.

"Who has the best handle on their new body?" Kratos asked, glancing at every face nervously. "It's very obviously not me; my reflexes are slower, which, admittedly, causes me a great deal of pain during battles." He looked to Colette.

"Huh? Oh, no. Not me. I can't even get those stupid cards to stay in the air," she said, shaking her head. "How about you, Lloyd?"

"…Me? Come to think of it, I haven't actually fought any battles since…_this_ happened," he admitted.

"Genis and I are magic-users. We'd cast too slowly to compete," Raine said.

"…Do you think that Sheena could do it, given the state that she's in?" Genis asked.

"She'd be in as good a position as Presea, or whoever that is," Lloyd commented, jerking his thumb at the soulless, pink-haired girl.

"I think that either would work perfectly. Their soullessness gives them the advantage in which their only concern is self-preservation, which should amplify their powers to give them said advantage," Genis mused, a calculative look on his face. "So our only question is: which one?"

"I don't want Sheena to fight," Kratos said suddenly. "She's completely lifeless, and we're trying to save her at this moment. Let's have Presea do it. Then we'll check the jail and go to Sybak."

"That's a good idea. Okay," Lloyd said as he sauntered up to the pretty receptionist. "We'd like to enter this pretty little rosebud into the arena."

"I'm sorry," the lady said apologetically. "The combatant list is full for this round. Please try again later, though."

"All of that for _nothing_?" Kratos raged.

"I guess we can't go see if Regal's there or not," Genis said, sighing.

"Then I guess we should head to Sybak," Raine suggested.

"I guess…" Kratos mumbled, still angry.

* * *

Why was that damn bridge so long? Sure, it had to cross the ocean, but Tethe'alla had advanced technology! Why couldn't they invent something that didn't kill them slowly and painfully as they crossed the ocean? Was it _that_ hard?

"Kratos, stop panting so heavily," Genis scolded.

"It was so _long_…" the man in red complained.

"Don't complain!" his teacher said sternly as he whacked him upside the head. "Haven't I told you before?"

"Ow! That hurt! And no, you haven't. Well, the _real_ Professor did…" Kratos trailed off, trying to remember when he'd come into contact with that information. What was weirder was that he felt as if he had actually experienced those beatings. "Huh…" he said quietly, wondering what that meant.

"Hey! Look! It's Sybak!" Lloyd cheered, suddenly sprinting ahead of the rest of the group. "Finally!"

"H-hey! Wait up!" Kratos shouted and ran after his son.

Minutes later, the city of Sybak loomed over the group. They all knew what they had to do. They walked into the city silently, heading toward the makeshift shop where they could acquire the Crest. If they were lucky, they could make the Key Crest without having to become wanted criminals.

As they approached the shop, the vendor gave them a fake smile and gestured to what he considered to be his "merchandise." They began to look around.

"Ah! These wares are simply marvelous!" Genis gushed, causing Lloyd to whip his head around.

"Wh-what?" Lloyd gasped. It would have been perfectly normal had it actually been the Professor, but…it was Genis! This was so weird! It seemed that Lloyd was the only one freaking out. Was this _normal_ to them? Genis wasn't supposed to act like the Professor! And everyone was just ignoring him!

But his mental breakdown didn't get to last long because Kratos suddenly said, "Hey. I found the Key Crest."

"You want that?" the vendor grinned. "Okay. Let's see…it'll be about…ten thousand Gald."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lloyd said, forgetting all about the strange occurrence from before. "We're not paying for that. If you know what's good for you, that is." He smirked.

The junk collector was taken aback. "What? And who are you to tell me how to run my business?"

"The Chosen of Mana, at your service," Lloyd bowed deeply, grinning even wider.

"O-oh! Ch-Chosen! I'm sorry! I wasn't aware! Please, take it! It's free!" The man shoved the Key Crest into Lloyd's hands, and they walked away happily.

"Good job, Lloyd. You're not bad when it comes to playing Zelos," Colette praised.

"Well, it _is_ my duty to protect those in need. Like my little angel…" He slowly inched closer to Sheena, and Colette sighed and smacked Lloyd on the back of the head.

Lloyd pouted. "It doesn't matter which body I'm in, does it? I'm going to be abused either way."

"Yes," Colette said simply.

They headed toward the Imperial Research Academy so that they could begin working on the Key Crest for Sheena. A scholar—and a nerdy one at that—blocked the entrance, and once again, Lloyd took control of the situation.

"Hey," he said. "This is my group, and we've got some business inside. So, uh, move along."

"Excuse me?" the student asked, offended. Then, he looked up and saw the face of the Chosen. "Oh! Ah, uh, Ch-Chosen! Please, use any room you'd like!" It looks like being the Chosen was the gift that just kept on giving.

"Thanks, dude." Lloyd and company walked past him, no one acknowledging him any further. Inside the building, another fight broke out.

"I'll go ahead and fix the Key Crest for Sheena. You guys wait here," Kratos said, already heading into the room.

"Shouldn't _I_ be the one doing that? It _is_ my thing, after all," Lloyd huffed.

"Not anymore," Kratos said pointedly, smirking a little.

Lloyd put his hands on his hips. "Oh, yeah? And do you even know _how_ to fix it?"

"Of course! Dad's been teaching me since—!" Kratos stopped abruptly when he realized what he'd said. "I-I mean, I'm just going to go fix it." He left without giving anyone a chance to either retort or comment on the previous statement.

"Wh-what?" Lloyd mumbled.

What in the _worlds_ was going on?

* * *

It took him a while, but Kratos eventually finished the Key Crest. He made his way into the foyer of the academy, finding everyone to be asleep. Or, at least, the ones that could sleep. Had he really taken _that_ long? "Hey! Wake up!" He kicked the nearest person to him: Lloyd.

"Hey! Watch it!" he grumbled groggily as he sat up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I finished the Key Crest," Kratos said as everyone else woke up.

"Finally," Colette moaned. "It took you _hours_!"

Kratos scowled at her. "Does it matter? I finished it. Let's just get it attached to Sheena."

Lloyd noticed something as he eyed the Key Crest in Kratos' hand. "Where's her necklace?"

"Huh? What necklace?"

Lloyd gaped. "The necklace that I—you—_I_ promised to give to her for her birthday! I embedded the Key Crest into that the first time around!"

Kratos took the defensive. "Whoa! No need to get all pissy! I'm sorry! I fashioned it into a bracelet, so it should work the same!"

"…It better," Lloyd griped. Kratos took that as the end of the argument, and he walked up to Sheena's lifeless form and attached the bracelet to her.

He stared at the bracelet. Nothing happened. "This should work. Eventually."

"Then, we're right on track," Raine commented, and they turned to leave.

"Wait. Aren't you supposed to meet Kate now?" Genis asked.

"We don't _have_ to. It didn't really have that big of an effect on the outcome of the journey, did it?" Lloyd shrugged.

"I guess not…" Colette admitted.

"Then, what are we waiting for? We've got to go see Altessa!" Kratos exclaimed as he pumped his fist, earning him a strange look from his son, who was not yet used to the strange behavior patterns that everyone was experiencing.

As they reached the exit, the real Presea appeared before them, although she didn't really pay them much mind.

"Da—Presea!" Kratos quickly caught his slip, hoping no one heard it. Because that would be _extremely_ awkward. "What are you doing?"

"You act as if you don't know." Presea's eyebrow arched mockingly.

"Oh, uh…" Kratos rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, then, if we already know what you're doing, why don't you just come with us?"

"I do not wish to impede your journey." Presea turned and walked away without letting Kratos get another word in. It must run in the family.

"…Damn," Kratos mumbled, and then they continued out of the city.

* * *

It was never pleasant journeying through the Gaoracchia Forest, no matter who you are or how many times you've been through. It was always the same. And so, even though they've ventured through the twisting and puzzling maze countless times, they still were not fully confident or calm.

And although they wouldn't admit it, most of them were trembling in their shoes by the time that they reached the fork in the pathway that would lead them either to Mizuho or Ozette.

"So…" Lloyd looked around nervously, listening to the sounds of wolves' howls and bats fluttering, waiting for a certain indicator. "What do we do now? Where's Regal?"

The group had been waiting for approximately five minutes for Regal to jump out of the trees and attack them, with no results at all.

"Do you think we messed up?" Raine asked. "When we didn't plan to go back to Sylvarant?"

"I hope not," Colette sighed.

"Come to think of it," Genis mused, "the only reason that Regal came after us the first time in the sewers was because the Pope had asked him to retrieve Colette. Then, he followed us into the Gaoracchia Forest to speak with Presea."

"…Shit!" Kratos raged.

"Now what?" Colette asked, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. "How do we get to Regal? Or whoever?"

Genis was the one to speak up. "Well, we're already in the Gaoracchia Forest, almost at Altessa's house. We should focus on fixing Presea, and then we'll go back to Meltokio and get Regal."

"Good idea, my cool beauty," Lloyd flirted before realizing who he was talking to. His face immediately contorted into disgust and he looked away, a deep, deep flush forming on his face.

"Uh, yeah…" Kratos said, deciding not to comment on that. "Let's do that."

And so, they all turned left onto the path that would lead them through Ozette. They heard the whispers of the villagers as they entered the town, each one criticizing at least one of them. They all backed away from Presea as she walked, not paying any of them any mind. Instead, the girl just walked straight ahead, toward her house. The others followed, expecting Rodyle to appear in front of the house. And yes, their expectations were, in fact, correct. Unfortunately.

They briefly wondered what would happen if they killed him now.

But then, they decided against it, considering they'd already screwed up the timeline many times over. So they merely watched as Rodyle laughed creepily and walked away. Presea walked into her house, and not wanting to waste any more time, they left her there, knowing she would only protest and fight back.

And so, with two less members than they originally intended to have, they headed off for the dwarf's house, hoping that he wouldn't turn them away, like the last time.

* * *

ARGH! WATASHI NO BAKA! If that's even correct. I'm assuming it is, but I could always be wrong. Stupid Japanese, being so confusing.

Anyway, I'm sorry for never updating anything. And I had originally intended to end up with all of them together for the first time by the end of the chapter, but _obviously_ that didn't work. Stupid fingers, typing whatever the hell they feel like typing. That's also why this is shorter than I intended. I wanted to make it super-duper long to make up for my awful evilness, but _obviously_ that didn't work either.

So, either way, I hope you liked it, because if you didn't, I might cry. So, even if you hated it, please lie if you leave a review. I worked on this _all day long_. And no, I'm _not_ exaggerating.

Bye! I love you! See you next year!

*slaps self*


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